A Snapshot of a Broken Idaho CPS System-Child Death

“As Idahoans call for transparency and accountability after the death of a baby in Nampa, born to parents known to be abusive, leaders at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare defend the way case workers handled the case. After hearing from several people who claim to have raised concerns before the infant’s death at 12 days old on December 16, 2025, we asked IDHW a list of questions.

The IDHW spokesperson said, in part:

Idaho’s child welfare system includes a range of services designed to protect children and serve families—particularly to protect children from abuse and neglect. Even with trained professionals, clear rules, and partner agencies involved, the system relies heavily on the information available at the time decisions are made. When a child dies, the department takes that outcome seriously and looks closely at whether improvements can be made—whether in policy, practice, staffing, or coordination with partners. An unfortunate reality is that, for a variety of reasons, some children are not raised in safe homes.
In December, IdahoNews spoke to one of the several people who called IDHW to request a welfare check on the baby, Benjamin, born December 4, 2025, to Brian Lemke and Allysen Armenta. IDHW already knew of the couple because, together, the two had already lost parental rights to five kids since 2019 and previously convicted of several counts of child abuse.

The first call occurred on December sixth, according to IDHW, and it did not include specific accusations of abuse, abandonment, or neglect, the child’s name, or a location. And though case workers take parents’ history into consideration, it doesn’t determine response priority. Similarly, IDHW noted, a new child born to parents with past involvement doesn’t automatically trigger a higher priority response level.

Baby Benjamin’s case was given a ‘priority III’ designation the day of the first call, which means, to case workers, he might have been ‘in a vulnerable situation because of service needs that, if left unmet, may result in harm, or a child is without parental care for safety, health, and well-being. A family services worker must respond within three calendar days, and the child must be seen within five calendar days.’

IDHW said they began trying to locate the family on December 9: ‘Actions included repeated attempts to contact the parents using all known points of contact, coordination with local law enforcement, outreach to the hospital, and welfare checks at last known addresses.’

At the time of her arrest for Benji’s death, Armenta had a warrant out for her arrest. When asked if this would factor into urgency, IDHW said the agency doesn’t get or track arrest warrants unless they are part of an active child protection investigation. [Well. maybe that has to change, ya think?]

On December 14, Lemke and Armenta made a post online asking for help to buy propane to heat their trailer because they had a newborn. Concerned people involved with paying for the propane raised concerns over how IDHW and Nampa Police handled it, with one officer arriving to speak with Lemke and letting him go without collecting an address to check on the baby. These people also claim the officer said he called IDHW on his way over there to check on the case. IDHW said they have no record of that specific call, but case workers often talk with cops when trying to locate families. IDHW noted a request for NPD to conduct a welfare check that day, and NPD noted the officer was assigned to this, but Lemke was not obligated to tell him where the baby was at.

The next day, IDHW said Lemke called them. IDHW notes on the call include: ‘he used all his money on getting the things that his new baby needed…child is doing well. They’re staying with a friend since they can’t be in their camper… He recognized that in the past he was not a good dad and has learned from his mistakes…mom was nursing and was doing well…staff and dad had a long conversation about their history and today’s reality…encouraged to cooperate…did not want to provide location. All he shared was that the family was in the Nampa area.'”

“As noted in this previous article, answering IdahoNews questions, the spokesperson for Nampa Police said:

• Lemke and Armenta had involvement with multiple law enforcement agencies, but NPD didn’t know their full criminal history until they were arrested.
• NPD knew about Armenta’s warrant but not her location.
• Their record shows a request for a welfare check the afternoon of December 14th, but officers didn’t know where Lemke and Armenta were staying.
• NPD would and did consider a baby in a trailer without heat as a reason to conduct a welfare check, [well whoopdie doo!]and that’s why one was assigned to an officer who tried to investigate.[Stellar police work…Not!]
• Further information: On December 14, 2025 Brian Lemke was contacted for the requested welfare check. Lemke provided his phone number but would not tell the officer the location of his trailer. The officer had no legal authority to detail Brian, and there was not a court order to remove the child from the parents’ custody. Lemke’s address was not known, and he did not have to provide law enforcement with that information.” [There is something called geolocation. But I am sure that CPS cases don ‘t qualify for that]

Idaho child welfare workers defend what they did in the days before newborn’s death
[CBS 2 1/9/2026 by Jenee’ Ryan]

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