COEUR d’ALENE — While North Idaho’s population has increased steadily in recent years, fewer suspected child abuse and neglect cases have been assigned a court-appointed special advocate, a trend that local advocates for foster youth said doesn’t necessarily mean fewer children are experiencing abuse.

“A lot of these kids are suffering in silence,” said Kristin Linville Ludwig, director of development for District 1 Court Appointed Special Advocates. “We see the cases that make the news. It shouldn’t have to get to that horrific level before something happens.” 

North Idaho CASA provides advocacy services to child victims of abuse and neglect in the First Judicial District, which includes the five northern counties. Each judicial district in Idaho has a program to train and support these volunteers, referred to as CASAs. 

In 2020, North Idaho CASA assigned trained volunteers to 239 cases involving 399 children. The number has decreased annually since then, with North Idaho CASA taking on 136 cases involving 218 children in 2025. 

Ludwig said the trend is the opposite of what she would expect to see in an area with a growing population. Typically, she said, reported cases of child abuse remain proportionate to the area’s population. 

Several factors have contributed to these changes, Ludwig said, including the isolation of the early COVID-19 pandemic. 

“There was a drop in cases in 2020 because so many people did not have eyes on kids,” she said. “They weren’t in school. They weren’t going to the doctor.” 

Idaho court decisions and policy changes have also had an impact. 

In 2017, a social worker with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and a detective from the Ada County Sheriff’s Office visited a home after an anonymous report involving a child with an “unexplained black eye.” 

The social worker and detective observed the home’s interior to be “filthy,” according to court records, and the detective took the children in the home into state custody, believing them to be in imminent danger. 

In 2024, a federal judge ruled that the detective violated the parents’ constitutional rights by removing the children without a warrant. The Idaho Capital Sun reported in 2025 that child removals by law enforcement declined steeply after the decision. 

“It’s harder for law enforcement to shelter children who are in imminent danger,” Ludwig said. 

In practice, she said, this means the cases that do come to North Idaho CASA are more extreme than in the past and often involve criminal allegations. 

Ludwig said hundreds of volunteer advocates across Idaho are a voice for children in these circumstances, half of whom are 5 years old or younger and can’t speak up for themselves. These volunteers act as consistent, informed advocates focused on the best interests of the child. 

“We have a wonderful base of community volunteers who are willing to take on cases and walk with the kids to make sure they’re in a safe environment,” Ludwig said.  

Advocates work first for reunification between children and parents when safe and possible and aim to keep children connected to their family and community of origin even when reunification isn’t possible. 

According to CASA’s statewide legislative report for fiscal year 2025, children were reunited with a parent in 632 cases, while other relatives adopted children in 63 cases. Case outcomes also included 166 non-relative adoptions, 35 guardianships, 23 instances of extended foster care and 50 cases where children aged out of foster care. 

Ludwig said some community members who are interested in volunteering hesitate because they think they might not be a positive enough role model for foster youth. But she said volunteer advocates come from different walks of life. 

“Anybody can do it,” she said. “Everybody can make a difference in the life of a child.” 

Info: northidahocasa.org