All of them - she fosters three to four at a time - must be supervised 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

"When you find your niche, you know it's just something you should be doing," says Schlueter, who after eight "demanding" but "gratifying" years is weighing a career change following word that her pay is being docked about $600 a month.

Schlueter belongs to an elite breed of "structured care" homes, licensed and trained to take in Utah's most troubled youth. Last year, 139 such homes fostered 453 kids, about 12 percent of the children in state custody. For their pains - specifically, their efforts to equip youth with living skills in preparation for the day they "age out" of foster care - Medicaid paid them an extra $5 a day on top of the $27 to $29 they received for room and board.

That's far less than it costs to keep teens in a group home or detention. But on Oct. 1, the state Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) discontinued the "skills development" stipend after an audit found parents weren't documenting their spending as required by federal law. And that has recruiters fearing Utah may lose some of its most seasoned and dedicated foster homes.

"It shouldn't hurt recruitment, because money isn't their primary motivation. But it could hurt retention," said Kelsey Lewis, a Utah Foster Care Foundation recruiter. "Utah's pay rates are already well below the national average."

Child welfare officials lament the pay cut, which also means a $2.5 million funding loss for DCFS.

By acting quickly to correct problems, the state is hoping to avoid federal sanctions, said agency director Richard Anderson. "We have great foster families. This is not a reflection of their commitment or level of care. They just didn't understand what paperwork they needed to supply."

Auditors characterized their findings as "unsettling." Of 126 skills-development cases reviewed, about a quarter of the 2005 caseload, none met all of Medicaid's filing requirements. About 46 percent met one or two.

To qualify for the extra money, foster parents are trained in behavioral-management techniques and to teach skills such as how to balance a checkbook, sign a lease and fill out a job application.

They map out goals, which are logged by a DCFS caseworker. The foster parent then files monthly progress reports. If goals aren't being met, they adjust the training.

"What we found [was] parents were getting Johnny up for school every morning and calling it skills development instead of teaching him to use an alarm clock so he can do it himself," said Anderson. ''It's a fine line, but we said, 'Wait a minute. That's expected of all foster families.' ''

Schlueter acknowledges some parents may have abused the program. But, she says, parents who go the extra mile shouldn't be penalized for the state's lax oversight.

With or without the stipend, the West Point woman says she'll teach her "boys" how to cook and sort laundry, and encourage them to make wise choices.

"I've had kids who couldn't use utensils properly," said Schlueter. "Some don't have the math skills to read a recipe and double it."

But other, more advanced lessons may fall by the wayside. Schlueter gives her wards $40 and challenges them to write up a menu plan, shop for groceries and cook a week's worth of meals without going over budget.

"I probably won't be able to afford that," she said.

Cindy Gates, a structured-care parent in Farr West, uses the money to buy extras, such as snazzy cologne or shampoo.

It encourages socially appropriate behavior and "makes them feel good about themselves," said Gates.

And Bountiful foster mother Karen Richman worries about the message being sent to youth.

''It's like my foster daughter said, 'Aren't we important?' '' said Richman.

Anderson said DCFS has other skills programs in place for families struggling to do it on their own. He said the state would have kept the stipend, and before the audit was even considering expanding it, but discovered ''it would cost us too much to administer.''

kstewart@sltrib.com

At a glance

* AT ISSUE: An extra $5-a-day Medicaid stipend paid to foster parents who care for troubled youth and are trained to teach them life skills.

* AN AUDIT FOUND: Of 126 cases reviewed from 2005, none met all of Medicaid's filing requirements for documenting the training.

* BOTTOM LINE: State officials have ended the program and its stipend, a pay cut for these foster families.