Our Story
History of Idaho Displaced Homemaker Programs
Job Options for Women Conference
March 20, 2001
I want to begin by telling you the stories of several women. One was a young woman who came to Idaho in the mid-70's with her husband and two small children. She was from the east coast and left long-time friends and family to come west. A year and a half later, her husband decided he didn’t want to be married anymore and left her. Alone, in Idaho, with two young children, she had nowhere to turn for help. There were no programs in Idaho to provide services to young single mothers in this situation. I’ll tell you more about her later.
Around the same time, on the west coast, two women were having coffee and discussing the plight of divorced women; specifically, women who had worked most of their lives in the home providing services to their families but who had lost their primary source of income because of divorce or the death or disability of their husbands. These two women coined a term, “displaced homemakers” to describe this group of people. So passionate were they to rally support for their cause that they began writing articles, visiting legislators, doing workshops, and lobbying whoever would listen! These two pioneers were Laurie Shields and Tish Sommers.
A couple of years later, in 1978, two women from Idaho attended an American Home Economics Association conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Guess who was there? Laurie Shields and Tish Sommers - talking about displaced homemaker programs. These two individuals were Janet Latham, State Supervisor for Home Economics and Shirley Kiehn, University of Idaho professor. When Janet and Shirley got back to Idaho, they wanted to do something for displaced homemakers in our state. They contacted Senator Norma Dobler, from Moscow; Ruth Pauly (Idaho Women's Commission); and several other interested parties. When the Idaho legislature met in Boise, they would all go to Ruth Pauly's house in the evenings where they would strategize about how to serve displaced homemakers in Idaho. Norma took her husband, Cliff, to these meetings. They called him the "first male Idaho feminist."
Senator Dobler was the energy source—she was always there, always focused. She was instrumental in drafting and introducing the Idaho Displaced Homemaker Legislation. She lobbied for it. She pushed and carried the bill. (DID YOU KNOW WE HAD OUR OWN LAW?! )
Norma approached the Administrator of the State Division of Vocational Education and convinced him that displaced homemakers should be served under Vocational Education since our agency also provided much-needed skills training.
The College of Southern Idaho (CSI) hired Rita Larom to run a pilot program. Rita was sensitive and responsive to the needs of displaced homemakers. Her program was exceptional. She had a VISION of what could happen statewide, and she made it happen.
Initial funding for the pilot program came from Idaho’s Vocational Home Economics funds but it was limited. So, the next year, Senator Dobler crafted a bill to raise the divorce fee and put those funds in an account for displaced homemaker programs. Norma thought we would be lucky to get $5 on the divorce fee so she asked for $20, thinking she'd have to negotiate down. She got the $20!!! The bill passed. Twenty dollars of every divorce that is filed in Idaho goes into a dedicated account to fund the Idaho Centers for New Directions.
Federal funding became available in 1984 and enabled us to strengthen the program statewide and serve more individuals. Rita Larom helped start five other centers.
Two years ago, in 1998, federal funding was eliminated and the Centers were in financial trouble. The local technical colleges assisted the programs and they survived. We are very grateful for their support. Last year, our wonderful Idaho legislature granted a generous amount of funding to the Idaho displaced homemaker program. We are so appreciative for the support we receive from Idaho’s lawmakers.
Today, there are SIX Centers for New Directions, one in each region of the state. The centers are located on the campuses of the six colleges, where participants can take advantage of other services such as GED preparation and technical training. In addition, the centers have outreach sites which provide services in some of the outlying rural areas of the state. The Centers for New Directions are doing more than anyone ever imagined.
Skills pay bills! We are fortunate to live in Idaho - a state where its leaders care about and take responsibility for helping single parents and displaced homemakers gain skills needed to support themselves and their families!