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
We’re glad you’re here, and that you’re interested in getting to know a bit more about Josh, a resilient teen who has so much to offer your family! Like a lot of teens, Josh loves to game, with his current passion being anything VR related. Josh dreams of someday going to “Vid-Con” to take in and learn about all of the new gaming technology happening world-wide! Don’t worry about this young man spending all of his time gaming though, Josh has a myriad of other interests as well that you’re sure to find a connection with. Listening to music; playing football; sledding in the wintertime; and hitting as many theme parks as possible the rest of the year are other things that he loves to do! Josh likes to draw cartoons and enjoys reading, especially the hilarious Dog Man book series and other comic book style graphic novels. This inventive boy created a You-Tube channel of his own and has interest in other technology related things too, like 3D Printing and Digital Arts. Josh is very easy to please when it comes to food… he likes eggs made all kinds of ways, and if you order him a whole Little Ceasars pizza of his own, you’re sure to be his new favorite person!
Josh is hoping for an active family who loves to travel and try new things. He’s very excited about the possibility of a trip to Disneyland with his Forever Family! Josh’s Permanency Team is open to hearing from Idaho families, with a preference for families located in the Northern Idaho area. Josh describes wanting both a Mom and a Dad, who are kind and funny and who will take an interest in the things that he loves to do. The best fit for him would be a smaller family with only one or two other children in the home, or he would also do well as the only child. Families who have a strong understanding of parenting to the needs of children who have gone through complex trauma, grief and loss would be a great fit for Josh in terms of helping him continue to work through his past hurts and move forward into the wonderful future he deserves. Josh needs caregivers who are patient and kind, who also have structure and clear expectations in their home. Parents who can meet him where he is emotionally and developmentally, and can encourage him to start each day with a clean slate, will assist him in continuing to thrive, grow and learn. If Josh sounds like he may just be a great match for your family and you’d like to learn more, 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.