Starting a foster home usually takes three to six months from your first call to your first placement. The path is the same in every state, even though the details differ: you meet basic eligibility rules, apply through a public or private agency, pass criminal background and child abuse registry checks, complete pre-service training, get through a home study, and receive your license. Only then are you matched with a child. Federal law sets the floor; your state and agency set the specifics.
Who Can Qualify
The eligibility bar is lower than most people assume. You don’t have to be married, own a home, or earn a high income.
- Age: most states require you to be at least 21, though some allow 18.
- Marital status: single adults, unmarried couples, and same-sex couples all qualify. Agencies evaluate household stability, not household structure.
- Income: enough to cover your own expenses. Foster reimbursements are meant to cover the child’s costs, not yours.
- Housing: safe, clean, with a bed for the child. Renters qualify. States limit how many children can share a bedroom.
- Health: every household member completes a medical evaluation. A managed chronic condition like diabetes or high blood pressure isn’t disqualifying on its own.
- References: three or four personal references from outside your family.
If you already have children in the home, they’ll be part of the process. Agencies interview them and expect you to prepare them for the reality that foster siblings often leave after weeks or months.
Choosing an Agency
You can foster through your state’s public child welfare agency or through a private agency licensed by the state. Public agencies handle placements directly and charge no fees. Private agencies contract with the state and sometimes offer smaller caseloads, more hands-on support, or specialized programs. Licensing standards are the same either way.
Most agencies begin with an informational meeting or orientation. That’s where you learn how the process works in your state and decide whether to move forward. After orientation comes a written application covering your household, your background, and the kinds of placements you’re open to. The application is the easy part. What follows is where the time goes.
Pre-Service Training
Every state requires pre-service training before licensure. The two most widely used curricula are MAPP (Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting) and PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education); some states run their own programs. Required hours vary from state to state, typically between 12 and 40, delivered in classroom or hybrid formats.
Coursework covers how trauma affects children, managing difficult behaviors, working with biological families, and understanding your role and its limits within the child welfare system. Most states also require current CPR and first aid certification. If you don’t already have those, your agency can point you to an approved course.
The Home Study
The home study is the most involved part of licensing. It combines interviews, a home inspection, and a paperwork package, and it ends with a written report recommending approval, denial, or additional steps.
Interviews
A licensing worker will meet with you multiple times, both individually and, if applicable, with your spouse or partner. Expect questions about your upbringing, your relationships, how you handle stress and conflict, your parenting philosophy, and why you want to foster. Children in the home are interviewed too. The goal is a realistic picture of your family and the kinds of placements that would fit.
Home Inspection
The worker checks for safety, not perfection: working smoke detectors, safe water temperature, secure storage for firearms and medications, a covered pool if you have one, adequate bedroom space, and no obvious hazards. Square footage rules and bedroom-sharing limits vary by state.
Documents
During the home study you’ll assemble:
- A recent physical exam for every household member
- Proof of income (pay stubs, tax returns, or W-2 forms)
- Completed background check and fingerprinting forms
- Personal references with contact information
- Proof of vehicle insurance and a valid driver’s license
- Marriage certificate or divorce decree, if applicable
If something in the home needs to be corrected, the worker tells you what to fix. Most issues are practical, like adding a fire extinguisher or securing a pool gate, rather than fundamental disqualifiers.
Background Checks and Disqualifying Offenses
Federal law requires every state to run fingerprint-based criminal records checks through national databases for all prospective foster parents before final approval, regardless of whether the state will be making foster care payments on the child’s behalf.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 671 – State Plan for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance The same checks cover every other adult living in your home. States also search their child abuse and neglect registries for all prospective parents and adult household members, and request the same search from any other state those adults lived in during the past five years.
Certain felony convictions are a permanent bar. These include child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, crimes against children (including child pornography), and violent crimes such as sexual assault or homicide.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 671 – State Plan for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance A felony conviction for physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense within the past five years also disqualifies you. Note the difference: violence against children or a spouse is a lifetime bar, while an assault or drug felony blocks approval only if it happened in the last five years.
Matching and the First Placement
Once you’re licensed, your name goes into the pool of approved homes. When a child needs placement, the agency looks for a home matching the child’s age, needs, and any preferences you stated in your home study. You might get a call within a week, or the wait might be longer depending on your area and the ages and situations you’re open to.
The call itself is intense. A caseworker will share what they know: age, reason for removal, behavioral or medical needs, and relevant history. You can ask questions, and you can say no. Turning down a placement you’re not equipped for is the right call for both you and the child. If you accept, placement can happen within hours in emergencies or over days to weeks for planned transitions with pre-placement visits.
Beyond traditional foster care, you can also pursue kinship care as a relative or close family friend, respite care for other foster families, emergency short-term placements, or therapeutic foster care for children with significant needs. Therapeutic placements require additional training and pay higher reimbursement rates. Most people start with traditional foster care and add certifications later.
Money: Reimbursements, Taxes, and Costs
Foster parents receive a monthly reimbursement from the state to cover the child’s basic needs: food, clothing, shelter, and personal care. Base rates vary dramatically by state and by the child’s age, from under $200 to over $1,200 per month. Therapeutic placements pay more. The payment is meant to cover the child’s expenses, not to serve as income.
Foster care payments from a state, political subdivision, or qualified foster care placement agency are generally excluded from your gross income for federal tax purposes.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 131 – Certain Foster Care Payments You typically don’t owe federal income tax on the stipend.
You may also be able to claim the Child Tax Credit for an eligible foster child. For the 2026 tax year, the credit is worth up to $2,200 per qualifying child, with a refundable portion of up to $1,700. The child must be under 17 at year’s end, have a valid Social Security number, and be claimed as a dependent on your return. The full credit phases out above $200,000 for single filers and $400,000 for joint filers.3Internal Revenue Service. Tax Benefits for Parents and Families
Out-of-pocket costs during licensing are modest. Background checks and fingerprinting typically run from a few dollars to about $60 per adult. Training is usually free, and some agencies help with the cost of required home safety upgrades.
Keeping the License and Staying Supported
A foster care license isn’t permanent. Most states issue licenses for one to two years. Renewal typically involves updated background checks, a new home inspection, a review of your fostering experience, and proof of continuing education, commonly 12 to 20 hours a year. Start renewal paperwork early. If your license lapses while children are placed in your home, the placement becomes unauthorized.
Caseworkers visit regularly after placement, typically at least once a month, and more often in the first days. Your agency may also assign a support worker for your family, separate from the child’s caseworker. Most agencies offer support groups, crisis lines, and therapists who understand foster care.
Respite care is worth knowing about from the start. Respite providers are licensed caregivers who watch your foster child for anywhere from an evening to a couple of weeks so you can rest or handle personal obligations. Your agency can connect you with providers, and the cost is usually covered. Placement disruptions happen more often than anyone wants, and burnout is the leading preventable cause.
What Your License Does and Doesn’t Grant
Foster parents don’t have the same legal authority as biological or adoptive parents. The state retains legal custody, and you’re caring for the child under that authority. Federal law does give you room to make everyday parenting decisions through the “reasonable and prudent parent standard,” covering things like sports, field trips, sleepovers, and school clubs.4Legal Information Institute. 42 USC 675(10) – Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard Major decisions like medical procedures, school enrollment changes, and out-of-state travel still require agency or court approval. Working inside that system, including court hearings and biological family visits, is the part of fostering most people find hardest, and it’s worth understanding before you apply.