Clark County Foster Care Rates: Base Pay, Supplements, and Allowances

A licensed foster parent in Clark County, Nevada receives a Nevada state base payment of $858.02 per month for a child aged 0 through 12 and $971.38 per month for a child aged 13 or older, under the rate schedule effective July 1, 2023.¹ That base covers room, board, and personal incidentals. Clark County foster care rates can run considerably higher when a child needs advanced or specialized care, and additional monthly supplements apply for medical and special needs. The county may also add local funds on top of the state amounts.

Base Family Foster Care Rate

Nevada sets foster care rates statewide through the Division of Child and Family Services. The base family rate is the same whether you are a licensed non-relative foster parent or a relative caring for a kin child through the system.¹

Age 0 through 12: $28.21 per day, or $858.02 per month
Age 13 and older: $31.94 per day, or $971.38 per month

The higher teen rate reflects that older kids eat more, need larger clothing, and have social expenses younger children do not. These payments are reimbursements for the cost of caring for the child, not wages. Counties may augment the state rates with county funds based on locally identified needs, so a Clark County household may see a slightly higher total depending on any county-level supplement in effect at the time of placement.¹

Higher Rates for Children with Greater Needs

Children whose behavioral, emotional, or medical needs require more intensive supervision are placed in Advanced Foster Care or Specialized Foster Care homes. These placements require additional caregiver training, and the daily and monthly rates jump accordingly.¹

Advanced Foster Care, age 0 through 12: $50.95 per day, or $1,549.59 per month
Advanced Foster Care, age 13 and older: $54.68 per day, or $1,663.09 per month
Specialized Foster Care, age 0 through 18: $144.48 per day, or $4,394.66 per month

Advanced Foster Care is designed for children with severe behavioral or emotional health needs who require 24-hour crisis availability and intensive clinical support. Specialized Foster Care compensates for the highest level of in-home supervision. The appropriate level is set through the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment, which looks at a child’s behavioral health, functioning, and risk factors. Periodic reassessments can move a child between tiers if their needs change.

Monthly Supplements for Medical and Special Needs

On top of the base rate, Nevada pays monthly supplements for children with specific medical or developmental conditions. Each supplement is approved by category, and a child can receive only one at a time, with a single exception: the sibling rate can be combined with one special needs or medically fragile category.¹

Special Needs Level I: $37.68 per month
Special Needs Level II: $113.07 per month
Special Needs Level III: $188.45 per month
Medically Fragile Level I: $188.45 per month
Medically Fragile Level II: $314.09 per month
Medically Fragile Level III: $628.18 per month
Sibling Rate: $65.00 per month
Specialized Sibling Rate: $472.67 per month

A foster parent caring for a medically fragile Level III child aged under 13 would receive about $1,486 per month: the $858.02 base plus the $628.18 supplement. The sibling supplement is meant to keep brothers and sisters together, and it can stack with one special needs or medically fragile supplement for a sibling who qualifies.

Emergency Placement Rate

Emergency foster placements have their own daily rate, ranging from $25 to $157.05 depending on the intensity of supervision required.¹ One tax wrinkle applies here: payments you receive just for keeping a bed open for emergency placements, when no child is actually placed, are taxable income. Payments while a child is in your home are not.

Clothing Allowances

When a child first enters your home, the state provides an initial clothing allowance scaled to age.¹

Birth through age 4: $75.00
Age 5 through 12: $105.00
Age 13 through 18: $125.00

A separate emergency clothing allowance of $50 is available once per year if a child’s wardrobe needs unexpected replacement.¹ These amounts are modest, and many children arrive with very little, so the initial allowance is meant to cover immediate essentials rather than a full wardrobe.

Medicaid and WIC Coverage

Every child in Clark County foster care is eligible for Nevada Medicaid without a separate income determination, because placement in care qualifies them automatically.² As of January 2026, Nevada Medicaid managed care plans must provide primary care visits, behavioral and mental health services, prescription medications, inpatient and outpatient hospital care, emergency services, well-child screenings, labs and immunizations, substance use treatment, medical transportation, and durable medical equipment.³ Foster children also qualify for the WIC nutrition program based on age and residency, using their Medicaid status as proof of eligibility. You generally will not pay out of pocket for medical care, though finding providers who accept Medicaid can take some work.

Are Foster Care Payments Taxable?

Qualified foster care payments from Clark County are not taxable income. Federal law excludes both the base maintenance payment and difficulty-of-care payments for children with special needs from your gross income, as long as you are caring for a reasonable number of children: up to 10 foster children under age 19, and up to 5 who are 19 or older.⁴ You do not report those amounts on your return.

Two exceptions apply. Payments received solely for holding space open for an emergency placement, with no child in the home, are taxable and must be reported.⁵ And if you operate at a scale that exceeds the per-home limits, the excess payments become taxable and are reported on Schedule C.

Child Tax Credit

Foster parents can also claim the Child Tax Credit for a qualifying foster child. The credit is worth up to $2,200 per qualifying child, with an Additional Child Tax Credit of up to $1,700 for filers with lower tax liability.⁶ The child must be under 17 at year-end, have lived with you more than half the year, be claimed as your dependent, and have a valid Social Security number. The full credit is available to single filers earning up to $200,000 and joint filers up to $400,000.

How and When Payments Arrive

Clark County Department of Family Services issues a payment calendar each year setting out the monthly cycle for foster care and adoption subsidy payments.⁷ The county tracks placement dates internally, so you do not submit vouchers or invoices to receive your base payment.

If a payment arrives and the child was not actually in your home for the full period on the statement, you are responsible for contacting the Placement Team or Adoption Unit right away. Overpayments are typically collected as an offset against your next payment, though the county may require a cashier’s check or money order for the full amount, and all overpayments must be repaid within 30 days.⁷

If an amount looks wrong, contact the Placement Team as soon as possible. Corrections are usually processed within 7 to 10 business days after notification. Keep your licensing specialist and adoption specialist updated on any address change, because the payments are not forwarded by the postal service.⁷ For payment questions or any foster care concern, Clark County Family Services can be reached at (702) 455-0181 or clarkcountyfostercare@ClarkCountyNV.gov.⁸

1
Nevada Division of Child and Family Services. DCFS Foster Care Rates Effective 7.1.2023
2
Nevada WIC Program. Certification of Foster Children
3
Nevada Medicaid. Managed Care Health Plans Questions and Answers
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 131 – Certain Foster Care Payments
5
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 17 (2025) Your Federal Income Tax
6
Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit
7
Clark County Department of Family Services. Foster Care and Adoption Subsidy Calendar 2026
8
Clark County, Nevada. Foster Care