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Photo: The Idaho State Capitol in Boise; via Wikipedia.
Foster care advocates across Idaho say the children entering the state’s system are arriving with increasingly severe histories of abuse and neglect, even as the total number of foster cases continues to decline. The trend, they warn, reflects a “perfect storm” of factors that have made it harder to identify and protect children in dangerous homes, Idaho Capital Sun‘s Laura Guido reported Thursday, per East Idaho News.
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program leaders from nearly every Idaho judicial district told the Idaho Capital Sun that they’ve seen fewer foster placements in recent years but far more complex and traumatic cases. “This year alone we’ve had four aggravated abuse and neglect cases in our district,” said North Idaho CASA Director of Development Kristin Linville Ludwig. “That’s bad, and nobody wants that to happen.”
Advocates cite three primary causes: the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, new federal and state policies emphasizing family reunification over removal, and a 2024 federal court ruling that limited law enforcement’s authority to remove children without a warrant.
The Ingram v. Mouser decision, issued by U.S. District Judge David Nye, found that Idaho law enforcement violated a family’s constitutional rights when removing children from a dirty home without a warrant. Since that ruling, the number of removals by police has dropped sharply, from 948 per year on average before the pandemic to just 263 in fiscal year 2025. Some agencies have since refused to remove children even when state officials express concern about safety.
“Law enforcement agencies across the state are refusing to do this work now,” said Jean Fisher, administrator of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s Division of Youth Safety and Permanency. “They claim it’s about liability, even though courts have provided a mechanism for emergency warrants.”
CASA leaders said that while fewer children are entering the system, the ones who do often exhibit signs of severe, prolonged abuse. In southern Idaho, CASA director Tahna Barton said she’s seen “the worst cases” of her 18-year career. “Most of the cases that come in are prevention plans that have failed,” she said.
The state’s prevention-first approach, launched after the federal Family First Prevention Services Act, aims to keep families intact by addressing issues like substance use, anger management, and mental health before resorting to foster care. Advocates acknowledge that prevention can help struggling families, but some say it’s also leaving children in unsafe homes for too long. “There’s a very fine line between poverty and neglect,” said Maggie Thompson of Ada County’s CASA program. “But we can’t confuse that with abuse.”
In response to mounting concern, Fisher said Idaho is retraining caseworkers to use “poor prognosis indicators,” national benchmarks that help identify when reunification is unlikely and faster placement into foster care or adoption is needed. Early analysis shows the indicators accurately predicted case outcomes in 2023 and 2024, and statewide training is expected to finish by year’s end.
“We can reunify families when it’s safe, but that’s not our job,” Fisher said. “Our job is the safety of children.”
Advocates like Barton say Idaho’s child welfare system is “broken” but filled with people trying their best under difficult conditions. “It’s easy to lose sight of that in the finger-pointing,” she said. “But there are still people in this system who truly care about these kids.”
If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, speak up. Contact your local child protection agency or law enforcement, or learn how Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers are helping protect children across the country. Visit our Institutional Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Guide to explore more stories and resources on child safety and institutional accountability. You can also complete the confidential, secure form below to receive a free case review.
