Joe Albertson once said, “Never have so much experience that you know something cannot be done.” That belief continues to guide the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation as we support leaders determined to solve Idaho’s toughest challenges.
At a Glance:
Idaho faces a severe shortage of youth mental health providers
Children’s Home Society, WCA, and Idaho Youth Ranch are collaborating
Albertson Family Foundation is supporting long-term, shared solutions
Improving youth mental health is foundational to education and family stability
One of those leaders, Anselme Sadiki of Children’s Home Society of Idaho, often says, “I do not believe there is a problem that cannot be solved.” That shared conviction is why we are helping the Children’s Home Society, the Women’s and Children’s Alliance, and Idaho Youth Ranch unite around a single, urgent issue: The mental health of Idaho’s youth.
Most Idaho families struggle to find behavioral health care. Providers are scarce, waitlists are long, and the number of young people experiencing trauma, depression and anxiety is rising. Idaho is widely known as a mental health care desert. Nonprofits are hit especially hard, losing counselors to organizations that can simply pay more. We believe that can change.
Philanthropy can help spark progress. These three nonprofit organizations are some of the oldest in the state. They bring decades of experience, deep relationships with Idaho families, and an unwavering commitment to helping kids heal. For just as long, they have confronted the provider shortage individually. Now with our help, they are choosing to collaborate, combining their experience and insight to pursue solutions that no single organization could take on by itself. At the foundation, our role is to help make that collaboration possible.
Our support is not about handouts. It’s about hand-ups. We aim to be an accelerant ― a partner that helps remove barriers, expand opportunity, and give nonprofit leaders room to pursue innovative approaches. Our job is to stand behind them with long-term support and help them speak with a shared, stronger voice. This is patient work. The challenges are generations deep, and meaningful change rarely happens quickly. But we believe in long bets, especially when they are placed on thoughtful, competent leaders who put Idaho’s children first.
This work fits squarely within the long arc of our mission. For nearly 60 years, the foundation has invested in opportunities that help Idahoans learn, grow and thrive. Education has always been a central focus because it is the most reliable pathway to opportunity. But a child cannot learn if they are not mentally healthy. Families cannot stabilize when support is out of reach. When we follow the journey of a young person, mental health is not an adjacent issue. It is foundational.
We have supported these nonprofits for many years, and we have seen firsthand what happens when a child gets the right help at the right moment. Healing becomes possible. Futures open. Families find their footing again.
It is a privilege to support the people and organizations doing this work every day. We believe in these nonprofits, and if this vital effort matters to you, they’re worthy of your support. Their dedication reflects the same belief that guided Joe Albertson. When capable leaders and the community come together, aligned in purpose and committed to Idaho’s kids, nothing is impossible.
Learn more about this collaboration at jkaf.org/stories/mental-health-for-idaho-kids.
Roger Quarles is the executive director of the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation.