How Do I Become a Foster Parent?

Find information and resources about foster parenting and becoming a foster parent.

State and local examples

6 Foster Care Skills You Need to Know Before Being a Foster Parent
Craft
Highlights basic foster care skills such the ability to assess oneself and a family's fitness for fostering, establish and maintain open communication with birth family, agency staff and school officials, manage challenging behaviors, and cope with sense of loss after a child's reunification with birth family.

32 Ways to Support Children in Foster Care (and counting!)
The Foster Coalition
Shares a broad range of ideas to show support for children in foster care, including fostering; becoming a respite care provider, volunteer, or foster care sponsor; launching a fundraiser; and more.

About Foster Parenting
AdoptUSKids
Provides information about foster parenting and adoption.

Becoming a Foster Parent
National Foster Parent Association
Illustrates the steps involved in becoming a foster parent with its challenges and rewarding opportunities, including a particular emphasis on key qualifications, the approval process, training, and licensure.

Background Checks for Prospective Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Caregivers

Series Title	State Statutes
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 1,181KB)
Year Published	2016

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 process of assessing the suitability of these caregivers to provide a safe home for children placed in their care. The crimes 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.

Foster Care
Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Answers frequently asked questions and provides frequently requested information about foster care.

Foster Care and Adoption Self-Assessment Guide: A Useful Tool to Help You Make an Informed Decision About Fostering or Adopting a Child (PDF - 412 KB)
Iowa KidsNet (2008)
Helps individuals make informed decisions about fostering or adopting a child through a structured and detailed self-assessment guide.

Foster Parent Bill of Rights
National Foster Parent Association (2007)
Lists the States that have enacted a Foster Parent Bill of Rights.

How You Can Help
Casey Family Programs (2017)
Suggests ways, at various levels of commitment, individuals can help create permanent, lifelong connections for children and youth.

Home Study Requirements for Prospective Foster Parents

Series Title	State Statutes
Author(s)	Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability	View Download (PDF - 1,619KB)
Year Published	2014

Presents State laws and policies for licensing or approving family foster homes, including laws about standards, the approval process, kinship foster care, and interjurisdictional approval. A licensed family is one that is approved by the State to provide care for children and that meets basic standards of safety set by law and regulation. These standards reduce predictable risks to the health, safety, and well-being of children in out-of-home care. The laws presented are current through October 2014.

My Criminal Conviction and My Family Court Case (PDF - 429 KB)
Legal Information for Families Today (2009)
Answers questions parents might have on the impact of criminal convictions in family courts. The factsheet also addresses the impact of a criminal conviction on becoming a foster parent.

Smoking Policies for Foster Parents (PDF - 83 KB)
National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning (2008)
Provides different States' policies regarding smoking in the presence of children in out-of-home care.

Why Foster?
Be a Foster Parent.com
Explains why an adult may want to consider becoming a foster parent.