Idaho Needs More Foster Homes Officials Running Out Of Parents Willing To Take Needy Children

The ranks of Idaho’s foster children are burgeoning while state officials are running out of foster parents to take them in.

“We need some really good parenting people out there to help these kids heal,” said Frannie McMahon, a Twin Falls-area planning supervisor for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

“Just about every child-protection child is a juvenile-justice child waiting to happen.”

There are 338 foster homes being used in Idaho for 1,020 foster children, said Anna Sever, child-protection program specialist for the state.

The problem is acute in south-central Idaho.

In the past year, 35 foster children were adopted through the local permanent planning team. But many of those adoptions were made by foster parents. So there were fewer homes open for foster kids.

Usually adolescents are the children most difficult to place, but the week before last, the regional office was unable to find a foster home for a 2-year-old, she added.

As of Thursday, the office had 117 foster children, and while there are 80 licensed foster homes, only 40 will keep children longer than overnight or in emergency situations, she said.

McMahon said there are other factors that account for a decrease in foster parents.

In many families, both parents work. Foster children are harder to deal with now than 20 years ago when they needed a temporary place to stay during family emergencies.

Some children have been abused by family, others are suicidal or suffer from developmental disabilities.

This spring and summer, the problem worsened because foster parents took vacations. Not only were their homes not open, but other parents had to care for the children they had.

Some people are afraid they will become too attached to children who stay with them an indefinite time, while others assume someone else is providing a safe home.