(Idaho Governor’s Office Announcement, June 10, 2024)
Taking steps to strengthen foster care, child welfare system in Idaho
By: Idaho Governor Brad Little
On Friday, I signed Executive Order 2024-05, the “Promoting Families and Protecting Children Act,” and announced additional steps my administration is taking to remove barriers for foster families and better protect youth in the child welfare system.
There is no category of children more in need of protection than those in the child welfare system. Through no fault of their own, children in foster care in Idaho face enormous challenges. They need our support, and so do the foster families who step up to care for them, love them, and provide them safety.
The Promoting Families and Protecting Children Act will accelerate the improvements we know we need to address in our child welfare system in Idaho.
The executive order directs the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) to:
- Build stronger partnerships to better serve mothers and babies
- Reduce barriers to adoption for children in foster care
- Increase the number of foster families in Idaho
- Promote early intervention for at-risk youth and families
- Address other areas of improvement at DHW so that families are centric to the decision-making process at all levels
In addition, Governor Little directed DHW to institute a “Foster Parent Bill of Rights” to inform foster parents and DHW staff about the rights foster parents have while caring for children.
“None of these actions alone will solve all the issues in our state’s child welfare system, but the Governor directed me to pursue these initial steps in order to build trust with our foster families and promote an organizational culture focused on what is best for the children in the care of the State of Idaho,” DHW Director Adams said.
