To become a foster parent in Virginia, you apply through your local Department of Social Services or a licensed private child-placing agency, complete at least 40 hours of pre-service training, pass criminal and child-welfare background checks for every adult in your home, and go through a Mutual Family Assessment that includes a home inspection. From first inquiry to approved license, the process usually takes three to six months.
Who Qualifies
You must be at least 18. Beyond that, Virginia keeps the door fairly wide. Single adults, married couples, divorced individuals, and unmarried partners living together all qualify. You do not have to own your home, and there is no minimum income. What the state wants to see is that you can pay your own bills without relying on foster care payments, so the financial review looks at employment, assets, and debts to confirm basic stability.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code Title 22 Agency 40 Chapter 211 Section 40 – Mutual Family Assessment Requirements
You also need to be in good enough physical and mental health to provide consistent daily care. The assessment looks at whether any condition would prevent you from safely parenting a child, not whether you meet an ideal standard.
Background Checks and What Disqualifies You
Every adult living in the home has to clear two separate screenings: a criminal history check through the Virginia State Police with fingerprinting, and a search of the Child Protective Services central registry for any founded complaints of child abuse or neglect. Virginia also checks the registries of any other state where a household member has lived in the previous five years.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 63.2-901.1 – Criminal History and Central Registry Check for Placements of Children
A conviction for any “barrier crime” under Virginia law permanently disqualifies an applicant. Barrier crimes include violent felonies, sexual offenses, and offenses against children. A single misdemeanor assault conviction that did not involve a child may be overcome if at least 10 years have passed, but that exception is narrow.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 63.2-901.1 – Criminal History and Central Registry Check for Placements of Children A founded finding of child abuse or neglect on any registry is also a permanent bar.
These checks do not stop once you are approved. If a new adult moves into your home later, that person has to complete the same screenings before staying in the household.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code Title 22 Agency 40 Chapter 191 Section 50 – Satisfactory Background Checks
Getting Your Home Ready
Your home does not need to be large or newly renovated, but it does need to meet specific safety and space standards. A caseworker will come out and inspect it as part of the approval process. Apartments and townhomes can qualify as long as they meet the same rules a house does.
Bedrooms and Sleeping Arrangements
Every foster child needs a separate, comfortable bed with clean bedding. No more than four children can share a bedroom, and each child must have personal space with at least three feet between beds. Bedrooms cannot double as hallways.4Child Welfare Information Gateway. Home Study Requirements for Prospective Foster Parents – Virginia
Children of opposite sexes over age three cannot share a bedroom. No child of any age can share a bed with an adult, and children generally cannot share a bedroom with an adult unless the agency approves a documented exception for a child with specific medical or developmental needs. Infants have to sleep on a firm, tight-fitting crib mattress with no soft bedding, pillows, or stuffed animals. Children under seven, and those with significant cognitive or physical disabilities, cannot use the top bunk of bunk beds.5Virginia Register. 22VAC40-211 – Resource, Foster and Adoptive Home Approval Standards
Safety Equipment
The home must have working smoke detectors and fire extinguishers that meet state standards for regulated care facilities. Cleaning supplies and toxic substances must be stored away from food and locked or kept out of reach of children under three. If anyone in the household owns firearms, the guns have to be unloaded and locked, with ammunition stored separately in a different locked location. The property itself must be in good repair, free of peeling paint, pest infestations, and any other health or safety hazard.4Child Welfare Information Gateway. Home Study Requirements for Prospective Foster Parents – Virginia
Pre-Service Training
Virginia requires a minimum of 40 hours of state-approved pre-service training before licensure. The Department of Social Services does not mandate a single statewide curriculum, so the specific program depends on whether you go through a local DSS office or a private child-placing agency. Training covers trauma-informed care, child development, the legal framework of foster care, working with birth families, and the goal of reunification. Sessions are offered in person, online, or in a hybrid format.
This is usually where families first sit with the emotional realities of foster care. The system’s primary goal is to return children to their birth parents, and agencies want to see that you can support that goal even when it is hard.
The Mutual Family Assessment
Virginia’s version of a home study is called the Mutual Family Assessment. A caseworker completes it using a standardized template that covers your family background, parenting approach, finances, health, and expectations for fostering.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code Title 22 Agency 40 Chapter 211 Section 40 – Mutual Family Assessment Requirements
You will need to provide employment and financial documentation (income, assets, and debts) so the agency can confirm you can support your own household. You also need at least three personal references from people who know your character and any experience you have with children. At least one reference per applicant must come from someone who is not a relative.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code Title 22 Agency 40 Chapter 211 Section 40 – Mutual Family Assessment Requirements
The narrative portions ask you to describe your family history, how you handle stress, your experience with children, and what you hope to offer. Caseworkers use these to figure out which types of placements would be the best match. Honesty matters more than polish. Agencies are looking for self-awareness and flexibility.
Getting the License
After training is done and your assessment materials are in, the agency pulls everything together: background check results, references, home inspection, and your assessment narratives. If it all meets state standards, the agency issues a certificate of approval that serves as your foster care license.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 63.2-901.1 – Criminal History and Central Registry Check for Placements of Children
The certificate specifies how many children your home is approved to receive and may note preferences you expressed during the assessment, such as age ranges or willingness to take sibling groups. Once it is issued, your name is added to the pool of available foster homes and you become eligible for placement calls.
Expect three to six months from your first orientation to a licensed home. Families who gather documents early and keep up with training usually finish on the shorter end. Delays most often come from incomplete paperwork or difficulty scheduling background checks across multiple states.
Keeping the License
Licensing is not a one-time event. Virginia foster parents must complete ongoing in-service training each year to maintain approval. Local agencies typically require around 10 hours of continuing education annually, covering topics like managing challenging behaviors, cultural competency, and updates to foster care law and policy. Those hours are needed for renewal.
What Support You Get Once Licensed
Virginia pays foster families a monthly maintenance payment to help cover food, housing, clothing, and daily necessities for each child in care. As of July 2025, the base amounts are:
- Birth through age 4: $580 per month
- Ages 5 through 12: $677 per month
- Age 13 and older: $861 per month
Children with significant medical, behavioral, or emotional needs may qualify for enhanced rates above these base amounts. Foster families also receive an annual supplemental clothing allowance, typically issued near the start of a placement. These maintenance payments are not taxable income; federal law specifically excludes qualified foster care payments from gross income, including difficulty-of-care payments for children with special needs.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 131 – Certain Foster Care Payments
Every child in Virginia foster care has health coverage through Medicaid at no cost to the foster family, including doctor visits, prescriptions, dental care, mental health services, and therapy. There are no co-pays for covered services. Foster children under age five are automatically income-eligible for WIC.
What Happens After You Are Licensed
After licensing, you wait for a placement call. How quickly it comes depends on the needs of children currently in care and the preferences you shared during your assessment. Some families get a call within days. Others wait weeks or months for the right match.
When an agency contacts you about a potential placement, you receive whatever background information is available about the child, including age, reason for removal, and any known behavioral or medical needs. You are not required to accept every placement offered. Saying no to a placement that does not fit does not count against you for future calls. Most placements happen on short notice, so having basic supplies on hand (a bed ready, some age-appropriate clothing, toiletries) makes the first hours less chaotic.
Once a child is placed with you, the plan almost always starts with reunification. Birth parents receive services and time to address the issues that led to removal, and your job is to provide stability while that process plays out. You will be expected to cooperate with family visits, transport the child to appointments and court hearings, and communicate regularly with caseworkers. Virginia treats foster parents as part of the professional team working on the case.
When reunification is not possible and parental rights are terminated, the child becomes legally free for adoption, and foster parents are often first in line to adopt. That is a different legal process with its own paperwork and its own financial supports, and your caseworker is the person to talk to when and if a case moves in that direction.