How to become a foster parent

Feb 3, 2021

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Successfully complete training. Pre-service training consists of 11 online courses and 15 hours of in-class instruction on the roles and responsibilities of team members.

Pass criminal checks. Prospective parents must pass local and FBI criminal background checks.

Be medically qualified. You will receive a form that will need to be completed by a doctor, physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner. If you regularly see more than one doctor, you will likely need all to complete the form.

Meet your living expenses. Foster parents frequently have to pay for clothes and other items and wait for state reimbursement, which may not cover all the costs. There is a financial background check.

Extensive interview process. Select a DCS-contracted licensing agency to complete interview, which is also known as a home study. A licensing worker will ask very personal questions about past and current relationships to assess the ability to parent children who
have experienced trauma.

Pass a home safety inspection. The Life Safety Inspection is a vital part of the licensing process. DCS has to guarantee the home situation will be safe for the children.

Be lawfully present in the U.S. “Lawfully present” means prospective foster parents are United States citizens or national or aliens authorized by an appropriate federal entity or court to be present in the United States.