Important program update
The Family Resource and Training Center wishes to extend a heartfelt thank you to every one of you who has had such a caring heart for the youth we have served through this program for the past 10 years.
Please read the information below outlining how the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare plans to continue its diligent efforts to find permanency for all children in foster care in Idaho.
Please complete inquiries for any youth you are interested in as soon as possible so that we may process your inquiry before our website closes.
July 28, 2026
To Our Community Partners,
The Idaho Department of Health & Welfare has been proud to partner with Eastern Washington University (EWU) and other community partners to recruit adoptive families for Idaho’s children in foster care. Since Idaho’s Wednesday’s Child began over 25 years ago, the landscape of adoption from foster care has changed yet there continues to be a need for child-specific recruitment for youth most in-need of a permanent home. Over the years the department has reorganized how permanency cases are managed to address this need and to achieve timely permanency for children who cannot return home. These changes include permanency workers “teaming” earlier with family services workers and the addition of a Family Find team to help identify previously unknown relatives and connections for our youth in care. Meanwhile, advances in technology and social media have resulted in increased risks related to public profiles causing Idaho and other states to consider the long-term impact to the youth featured.
The Idaho Department of Health & Welfare is in a position to innovate practices for child-specific recruitment while demonstrating fiscal responsibility. With this in mind, the contract for Wednesday’s Child, Waiting Families and intensive recruitment services is ending effective 09/30/2026. These services will be provided through Youth Safety & Permanency team members beginning October 1, 2026. During this transition, the current website for Idaho Wednesday’s Child will be unavailable while an updated website is created for both our waiting children and waiting families. Idaho will continue to use the AdoptUSKids website during the transition to ensure ongoing efforts to achieve permanency for waiting children.
Thank you for your continued support and advocacy on behalf of Idaho’s children.
Thank you,
Jean M. Fisher
Intensive Recruitment Services (IRS) is an intensive placement recruitment program that seeks to identify, build, and support a child’s established familial and community connections. IRS supports permanency teams through individualized recruitment work when a permanent placement has not been identified.
The Family Resource and Training Center (FRTC) administers Intensive Recruitment Services (IRS) for the Department of Health and Welfare. While Wednesday’s Child focuses on media-based recruitment, Intensive Recruitment Services (IRS) is a separate program that provides intensive, case-focused recruitment support for youth who need targeted strategy and outreach coordination. IRS is an intensive placement recruitment program that seeks to identify, build, and support a child’s established familial and community connections.
IRS services are provided by a small, statewide team of two recruitment specialists. One who serves youth and permanency teams in the northern part of the state, while another supports cases in the southern regions.
Our work supports concurrent planning and permanency planning efforts. We provide an array of permanency support services, ranging from genogram building and social history writing to family engagement. In order to complete this work, we meet with the youth, file mine, and utilize specialized family finding tools and other public records. Our services are typically completed in 3 to 6 months, though this is negotiable depending on the unique needs of individual cases.
What IRS is not: IRS does not make placement decisions in the way DHW placement functions do. Our family engagement services may include initial conversations with identified individuals to gather relevant information regarding fit between a family’s circumstances and the youth’s needs, adoption preparedness work with the youth, and potentially adoption preparedness with a potential adoptive placement upon request by the worker. While we identify individuals and make professional recommendations based on assessment, the worker and appropriate DHW divisions remain responsible for permanency and placement decision making, including case management and licensing.
Why utilize IRS: Our team helps you understand where a child has been, articulate where they currently are (needs, placement, supports), and identify a plan going forward. We complete extensive research and provide an organized picture of the child’s family and history, creating a practical reference tool that supports multiple tasks throughout the case management process.
IRS is designed to support you in your concurrent planning and permanency planning efforts by reducing the burden of intensive recruitment work, while improving results for youth who need individualized recruitment.
IRS provides recruitment strategy, outreach coordination, and research support. Placement decisions remain with the permanency team and appropriate DHW divisions.
If you are stretched thin or unsure what to try next, IRS can help you move forward with a clearer plan and added support.
Referrals do not need to meet a rigid checklist. If recruitment efforts have not resulted in an identified permanent placement, IRS may be an appropriate support.
IRS referrals may be submitted for youth whose permanency plan includes adoption, including cases with concurrent planning, when no permanent placement has been identified and individualized recruitment is needed. Referrals are submitted by the assigned Family Services Worker.
If you are unsure, submit a referral. IRS can consult with you to determine next steps.
