📰 15 Idaho Foster Care Kids Abused

Boise, Idaho. Say what you will of the nation's mainstream media, but when it comes to the health and well-being of Idaho's children, KBOI/CBS2 News cares.

This week, an investigation piloted by the Boise news outlet discovered 15 Idaho foster care kids had been injured and/or abused during the 2022 federal fiscal year. Idaho Department of Health & Welfare Child Welfare Bureau further confirmed the injuries and/or abuse incidents pertained to the child's treatment within the foster care facility. They were not accidental.

Official documents obtained by KBOI/CBS2 News verify the number of injured and/or abused Idaho foster care children between 2019 and 2021:

  • 21 injured/abused in  2019
  • 19 injured/abused in 2020
  • and 29 injured/abused in 2021

On children who re-enter the foster care system and the emotional trauma endured as a result, KLEW, a Lewiston, Idaho-based news outlet, reports Andie Blackwood, Idaho Department of Health & Welfare Child Welfare Bureau Chief, says:

Trauma does have an impact on the brain. That impact can be mitigated over time, but it might not always necessarily be erased, and we can't really predict how that will manifest when you adopt a child at a very young age, what that child will look like when they are 15, 16, 17 years old.

–Andie Blackwood

📰 Reporting Neglect, Abuse, or Abandonment 

According to a mandatory reporting and exemptions clause, Idaho Department of Health & Welfare obligates Idaho adults to report child abuse, injury, and neglect to the state "within 24 hours of becoming aware of the concerns."

Reference Idaho Statute Title 16: Juvenile Proceedings, Chapter 16: Child Protective Act // Reporting of Abuse, Abandonment, or Neglect here.

📰 200 Idaho Foster Care Kids Sent Away

The Gem State's Foster Care network is strapped for foster parents and resources. The same investigation also discovered 200 Idaho foster care children had been sent to homes and institutions of out state. Read more about Idaho's foster care crisis here.

📰 Foster Parentage + Fostering-to-Adopt

The Idaho Department of Health & Welfare is in desperate need of qualified foster care parent applicants.
But don't allow the term "qualified" to intimidate you out of considering foster parenthood. Idaho's Child and Family Services
Foster parents are as varied as the children needing homes. Successful foster parents are everyday people from all races, religions, incomes, and educational backgrounds. No two families are alike.
–Child & Family Services, Idaho Dept. of Health & Welfare

💭 Share your thoughts & concerns about this topic with Ryan by emailing ryan.valenzuela@townsquaremedia.com!

Scroll on for a gallery of helpful-to-know Idaho adoption facts, as well as a 2023 update on the status of Idaho's missing children.

12 Good-to-Know Idaho Adoption Facts

Learning about my friend's heartbreaking experience in foster care prompted me to explore Idaho's adoption policies and laws.

The gallery below contains a short series of facts I thought anyone could benefit from knowing. 

2023 Updates On The Missing Children in Idaho

These children are missing and could be in the Idaho area according to MissingKids.org. Have you seen any of these children?

When & Where Idaho Kids Can Eat For FREE This Summer

Thanks to West Ada School District, here is where and when parents can take kids to eat for free this summer.
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