New Opportunities, Inc.

You must meet minimum requirements to provide foster care for children in Connecticut. Before you start, educate yourself and reach out to a foster care agency. Social workers recommend that you and other family members in your home feel ready before starting your foster journey. Caring for a foster child takes time, patience, and persistence.

Contact your local licensed child-placing agency or attend an orientation meeting to learn more about what fostering entails. They will inform you about foster parent requirements, common obstacles you might face, and unique challenges among foster children. All foster kids have experienced trauma. Training teaches foster parents how best to help foster children manage their feelings and feel secure.

You must meet minimum state requirements to qualify as a foster care provider in Connecticut. Foster parents must: 

• Be 21 years of age or older
• Offer a safe living environment
• Pass a police and FBI background check
• Maintain sufficient income to care for a family
• Complete the 10-week training program
• Provide a separate bed for the foster child
• Complete the Home Study process
• Have a clean driving record (pass a DMV check)

Kids of the same gender in a similar age range may share a bedroom.

Contact the Connecticut Department of Children and Families or a local child-placing agency for additional questions about foster parent requirements.