In March of 1998, the Shepherd’s Home opened its doors to its first resident and before long, the Home was at capacity. With the generous financial support of donors and the commitment of talented staff and volunteers, the Shepherd’s Home has provided Hope for countless Idaho children and families.

Mission Statement

The Shepherd’s Home nurtures and protects children in need by providing a loving family home.
We serve children of all ages. Our trained and compassionate team values each child, offers unconditional love, and encourages in each child a sense of self-worth. As a result, we play a part in breaking the cycle of abuse and neglect.

Objectives

• Provide a safe and loving home to children who are victims of abuse, neglect or crisis.
• Provide additional programs for our residents to help them adopt healthy habits and be successful.
• We seek to provide not only temporary shelter, but a new road map for life after residence in the home.

The Shepherd’s Home Board of Directors is united and committed to the common goal of continuing to provide the care and services that the Home has become known for while simultaneously adapting to the changing needs of the communities and families we serve and aggressively planning for ongoing sustainability.

Increasing Need

• Currently, there are approximately 2, 750 Idaho children in foster care, from very young children to teenagers. Some need temporary foster homes and are eventually able to return to their birth families.
• According to Child Welfare League of America data, the State of Idaho has a rate of 4.3 children per 1000 children (ages 0-17) which are abused each year with a total of 2,005 children in 2022.
• In 2022, Idaho had 2,597 children (ages 0-17) in the foster care system.
• In 2022, Idaho had 21,206 investigations of child abuse or neglect of children (ages 0-17) reported.
• As the Valley County community has experienced rapid growth, the demand for Shepherd’s Home services has increased.
  • Affordable housing has become limited, as has the pool of qualified labor.
  • More families are at-risk, under stress, and in need of assistance.

“Though our mission is to serve children, we acknowledge that to adequately do that requires working to some extent with families and communities at large. Through the following objectives, we seek not only to provide children with shelter in the storm, but to stop abusive cycles by working within a wider context.”