Idaho panel weighs $14.1 million supplemental, staff hires to reduce costly congregate care placements

BOISE — The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Feb. 20 heard a multi-part budget request for the Division of Child Welfare, which the agency has rebranded as Youth Safety and Permanency, that aims to reduce reliance on high‑cost congregate care by expanding prevention work and recruiting more foster families.

Analyst Alex Williamson told the committee the division (budget book line 20009) has 434.8 authorized full‑time positions and reported 45.8 vacancies as of Feb. 10, with roughly 25 of those in the interview process and nine posted. Williamson said recent base increases included a foster‑family monthly maintenance rate boost and 24 new in‑home caseworkers added in prior years.

The budget package presented by the Department of Health and Welfare and summarised by Director Alex Adams would add prevention specialists, clinical staff and licensing staff aimed at keeping children safely at home or placing them with families instead of congregate care. The department also seeks a supplemental and other authority to allow transfers of personnel and trustee/benefit payments across expense classes in accordance with Idaho Code §67‑35‑11.

Why it matters: Director Adams and agency staff told the committee that congregate care costs are far higher than prevention and standard foster care. "If I keep a kid in their home, in a prevention case, it's a dollar 80 a day," Adams said. "If a child is…