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
If you’re a football loving, Lord of the Rings watching, pizza and ribeye steak eating kind of a family, James is your guy! No worries if those things aren’t among your favorites, James is interested in way more than that! This active young teen loves Jiu Jitsu; skateboarding; dodgeball; football; archery; fishing and hiking. When he’s not expending his energy being active, James enjoys playing video games, card games, and his electric guitar, as well as drawing and reading Harry Potter books.
James considers himself kind, silly, caring and funny. He is currently fascinated by all things aeronautical and hopes to someday join the Air Force. James would like a family who is active and adventurous and lives in or close to a city. He’s looking forward the most to the “everyday” things about having a family that most people take for granted like help with homework, dinners together and weekend camping trips.
James’ Permanency Team is ideally searching for an Idaho family, however they are open to hearing from families outside of Idaho as well who feel that they may be a good match for him. The best fit for James will be a home with two parents and children younger than him, if there are other kids in the home. James needs calm and patient caregivers who are trauma-informed and can spend a lot of time engaging with him. A structured environment, where grace is also given freely if he’s struggling with something, will be a wonderful fit for him. James is sure to bring lots of love, fun and adventure into the lives of his adoptive family! We would love to hear from you. Follow the steps below!
The Idaho Wednesday's Child Program prioritizes the safety and security of children, above all else. In an effort to protect the safety of the youth we serve, our process requires families to possess a current, approved adoption home study. Only families with a current home study can view youth's full profiles with videos and photos and submit inquiries, on the Secure Gallery Page.