Licensing Foster Parents

Each State requires that families providing foster care must be licensed, certified, or approved; however, licensing rules and regulations vary from State to State. Find resources and information about licensure types and requirements.

Background Checks for Prospective Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Caregivers

Series Title	State Statutes
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 1,356KB)
Year Published	2019

Discusses the requirements set by States for conducting background checks of prospective foster and adoptive parents and other out-of-home caregivers, as well as any adults residing in the prospective caregivers' households. These checks, including State and Federal criminal records and child abuse and neglect central registries, are part of the process of assessing the suitability of these caregivers to provide a safe home for children placed in their care. The circumstances that will disqualify an applicant also are discussed. An overview of Federal requirements also is provided. Summaries of laws for all States and U.S. territories are included.

Becoming a Foster Parent
National Foster Parent Association
Provides an overview of the commitments of foster parenting and the steps to take to become licensed and qualified.

Foster Care and Adoption
National Indian Child Welfare Association
Addresses advocacy done to improve laws and policies that protect American Indian children when they are placed outside their homes.

Foster Care Licensing
Grandfamilies State Law and Policy Resource Center
Provides summaries and links to more than 67 State citations on relative foster home licensing. It also includes a database to search bills and statutes.

Getting Approved to Foster or Adopt
AdoptUSKids
Provides information on the process of getting dual licensed, which means families applying to adopt also becoming licensed to foster.

Home Study Requirements for Prospective Foster Parents

Series Title	State Statutes
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 1,593KB)
Year Published	2018

Discusses State laws and policies for licensing or approving family foster homes. A licensed family is one that is approved by the State to provide care for children and that meets basic standards of safety and is able to provide a healthy and nurturing home environment. The topics discussed include training requirements, the process for approving homes, grounds for not approving homes, kinship placements, adopting from foster care, and interjurisdictional placements. Summaries of laws and policies for all States and U.S. territories are included.

NARA Model Foster Care Standards
National Association for Regulatory Administration (2018)
Provides comprehensive national licensing standards for a family foster home in order to set clear and practical requirements to reference and guide states in their efforts to license homes.

New Model Family Foster Home Licensing Standards: An Overview
American Bar Association (2015)
Provides comprehensive model family foster home licensing standards that consider community norms and cultural difference for States to align with in order to create a larger pool of safe and appropriate applicants to become licensed foster parents.

Standards of Excellence for Child Welfare Services
Child Welfare League of America
Presents standards of excellence for family foster care practice, in particular for referral and intake, assessment and service planning, family foster care placement, the provision and monitoring of services, permanency planning, discharge from family foster care, and postplacement services.

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