DHW report highlights foster care struggles in Idaho

Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — A new report from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare shows between two and ten children are staying in Airbnbs and hotel rooms due to a lack of foster home availability.

The number of foster children in Idaho has decreased slightly in the last year, those kids who are in foster care have seen their situations get worse. As a result, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is recruiting foster families, saying the situation they’re in is a first.

A lack of foster homes has been deemed a crisis, and IDHW has struggled with placement since October 2021. Idaho has around 1,700 children in foster care each month.

For more information about how to become a foster parent, visit the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s website.