What Will Disqualify Me From Becoming a Foster Parent?
Becoming a Licensed Foster Parent in Your State: Five Factors That Can Disqualify You
Foster families are diverse and unique, with no one-size-fits-all definition. Child welfare agencies encourage foster parents of varied races, economic backgrounds, marital statuses, and sexual orientations to apply. The key qualifier is the ability to offer foster youth a safe, stable, and nurturing home environment.
Social workers and advocates in the foster care system are devoted to serving the best interests of foster children. These organizations prioritize the safety and well-being of foster kids who cannot safely live with their birth parents. Their goal is to achieve permanence that ensures the well-being of every child.
Being a foster parent is a challenging but immensely fulfilling journey. Many prospective foster parents don't realize they are eligible to foster children. Others have issues that could delay or disqualify them from caring for children and youth in the U.S. child welfare system.
If you are thinking about becoming a foster parent, review the five primary disqualifiers to fostering a child:
1) Failure to Satisfy Training, Experience, or Income Requirements
Foster parent applicants must meet all state training, experience, and family income requirements.
Every aspiring foster parent must complete the required pre-service foster parent orientation and all training hours. These include process and specific parenting training topics, including behavior modification and trauma-informed care. Foster parents learn how to support the unique needs of foster children and navigate behavioral challenges. Training sessions provide education, tools, and resources to understand all facets of providing foster care.
Following foster parent training, the most detailed part of the approval process is the Home Study. It includes completing administrative paperwork, participating in interviews, and having a home safety inspection. The Home Study helps advocates at your child-placing agency make the best match between your family and a foster child in need. The process also validates information that appears on your foster parent application.
Most states provide financial assistance to offset the basic costs of providing for a child. This subsidy intends to offset, but not cover, the costs of childcare. Foster parents must be able to adequately provide for their foster child and family. You must show proof of a sufficient, stable income that does not come from alimony or government assistance.
2) Inability to Provide Safe and Appropriate Childcare
Foster parent applicants and their family members must be fit to provide safe, appropriate care for foster youth.
Foster parents must have the time, energy, and good health to care for foster children. Life-threatening health issues may impair your ability to provide nurturing care. To become a foster parent, you must undergo a physical exam and show proof of your physical and mental health. The same is true for every member of your household.
Foster parents also assume a new parenting role that will add stress and complexity to their lives. The ability to manage new responsibilities and maintain family priorities is key. Aspiring foster parents must demonstrate they can care for foster children while managing work and family needs.
3) Failure to Pass a Home Safety Inspection
Foster parent applicants must have a home that is safe and has adequate space to care for foster youth.
Many children enter foster care because of unsafe or unlivable conditions in their birth family homes. Above all, foster families must be able to provide safe and stable home environments for foster kids.
Foster homes must be clean, with seasonally appropriate heating or cooling. Safe homes must have adequate ventilation, working smoke detectors, and indoor plumbing. Every state shares some requirements, while others may be specific to each state.
4) Lying or Misleading Your Child-Placing Agency
Prospective foster parents must give their foster or adoption agency complete, accurate, and truthful information.
Adults work with a child-placing agency in their state to become foster or adoptive parents. Public and private foster and adoption agencies rely on applicants to be honest and transparent throughout the approval process.
You must disclose any reports or accusations of child abuse or neglect, even if they are unfounded. The foster parent approval process is not black and white. The process enables evaluation of detailed and nuanced aspects on a case-by-case basis. The agency will fully investigate and validate any reports of child abuse.
Your agency partner will also need to know if another agency has certified you as a foster parent. If so, your prospective new agency would check references with your past agency. This reference check looks into criminal acts, substance abuse, and any involvement with Child Protective Services (CPS).
5) Criminal Conviction with Potential Child Harm
Foster parent applicants must have a clean record, with no criminal convictions that would put foster children at risk of harm.
All potential foster and adoptive parents, along with other adults in the household, must pass a criminal background check. The goal is to ensure the safety of vulnerable children in foster care services. Adults with a conviction or suspicion of child abuse are not eligible to become licensed foster care providers.
If you or someone in your home has harmed or neglected a child before, you cannot become a foster parent. All household members over 14 years must pass a CPS criminal background check that includes all forms of child abuse and neglect. States conduct separate background checks, as well.
Barrier crimes are criminal violations that prevent you from becoming a foster parent in your state. Similarities exist among all states, including those that cause harm to children. The Adoption Network provides a state-by-state list of barrier crimes.
Who Can Become a Foster Parent in the U.S.?
Every foster home caring for kids looks a little different from the others. No single definition of an ideal foster family exists. The best foster parents come from different races, socioeconomic backgrounds, marital statuses, and sexual orientations. All who are able to provide a safe, stable, and nurturing home to foster youth are welcome to apply.
Learn more about foster parent requirements and the Home Study. Check state requirements or contact an agency to see if you can foster a child.
