Idaho families are struggling. For the past five years, they have been under attack by the burdens of outrageous inflation, hostile policies carried out by Child Protective Services, a judicial system that is completely opposed to protecting the traditional family, abortion petitions by far-left globalist interest groups, and completely unaffordable housing, as new home starts hit historic lows.

This week, the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) reviewed policies and plans for restoring some level of sanity and safety for Idaho families in a series of articles related to our 2026 legislative agenda. We plan to accomplish this three ways:

1. Improving home affordability. Senior Policy Fellow Fred Birnbaum outlines the outrageous growth in home prices. Today’s homes are bigger and better, but the prices of new and old homes far outpace normal inflation and normal increases due to home size and quality. Homes are more than 100 times what they cost just 70 years ago. Piled on top of the costs of food, energy, and everyday necessities, it’s no surprise why families are smaller, own homes less often, and are in need of a dual-income household — something that wasn’t even conceivable just 50 years ago.

2. Protecting life in Idaho. Rachel Hazelip expertly details how, without protection for life, other rights are not even possible. The “mother of the abortion movement” and founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, promoted her evil beliefs that the poor, disabled, and various minority groups should be sterilized or euthanized. Today, the torch for abortion as “healthcare” is being carried and promoted by Planned Parenthood, leftist groups, and individuals who, like Sanger, care little about life and happiness, and more about murdering babies for the sake of convenience.

3. Defending our families. Rachel Hazelip describes how the Idaho judicial system and Child Protective Services have been compromised by federal incentives to break up families and by leftist judges who tilt toward breaking up families by removing kids from parents’ care and putting them in the state’s hands. This system hurts many children, as testimony and evidence presented to an interim legislative committee proves. Serious judicial and CPS reforms are needed to stop the harm, prevent medical kidnapping, and restore families as the center of Idaho society.

The IFF is committed to doing all that is necessary to ensure Idaho's families and children are protected. When the government becomes a danger to Idaho values, the system must be reformed. As Thomas Jefferson is often cited as saying, 

“When government fears the people, there is liberty; when the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”

The IFF is working tirelessly to end all tyranny in Idaho. We want our government to fear the people once again, and we will restore Idaho as a family-friendly place to raise our children.