Cornerstone Cottage News Today

Cornerstone Cottage, the Idaho youth treatment home featured in several recent InvestigateWest articles detailing alleged child abuse and neglect that took place there, has closed.

Owner Jim Smidt notified the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare on Jan. 25 that Cornerstone was closing the Post Falls facility and discharging the five remaining residents by Jan. 31.

This story was first published by InvestigateWest on Dec. 28, 2023. Editor’s note: This story details cases of sexual assault. Alyssa Bowers was 3 when her mom went to prison.

Idaho’s oversight of children's residential facilities or "trouble teen programs" is less robust that other states, InvestigateWest found.

In 2016, Idaho state regulators wrote a scathing letter to Northwest Children’s Home, a 46-bed residential care facility in Lewiston.

In 2016, Idaho state regulators wrote a scathing letter to Northwest Children’s Home, a 46-bed residential care facility in Lewiston.

In 2016, Idaho state regulators wrote a scathing letter to Northwest Children’s Home, a 46-bed residential care facility in Lewiston.

Editor’s note: This story details cases of sexual assault.

Earlier this year, two whistleblowers who triggered a state investigation into Cornerstone Cottage, an Idaho youth facility where they once worked, still believed at least one state agency would take

Legal experts say the case underscores Idaho’s weak protections for workers facing retaliation.