Maryland’s foster care bedroom requirements come from COMAR 07.02.25, and they cover four things a prospective resource parent needs to get right before a child can be placed: the room itself must be a real bedroom in an approved part of the house, the bed must be a proper permanent bed, the people sharing the room must fit within gender and age rules, and the space around the bedroom must have the required safety equipment.
What Counts as an Approved Bedroom
The room must be large enough to comfortably fit the child’s bed and personal belongings, with a ceiling at least 7 feet high.1Maryland Department of Human Services. COMAR 07.02.25 Resource Home Requirements It needs a door that opens onto a hallway or common area, so a room people walk through to reach somewhere else in the house does not qualify. It also needs at least one window that provides natural light and ventilation, and that window (or an exterior door) has to be operable and usable as an emergency exit in a fire.
A finished basement that meets the ceiling height and every other standard can potentially be approved. Unfinished basements and unfinished attics cannot be used as sleeping areas at all.
Where a Foster Child Cannot Sleep
Maryland lists the off-limits spaces directly:1Maryland Department of Human Services. COMAR 07.02.25 Resource Home Requirements
- Basements and attics
- Hallways, kitchens, dining rooms, and living rooms
- Bathrooms and closets
- Screened porches
- Any other room not designed as a bedroom
If the space was not built as a bedroom, it cannot be used as one. Converting a den or finishing off a corner of a living room does not create a qualifying bedroom.
Same Floor as the Resource Parent
The foster child’s bedroom must be on the same floor as the resource parent’s bedroom. The one exception is for children age 12 or older, and even then the local department has to approve the arrangement in advance.1Maryland Department of Human Services. COMAR 07.02.25 Resource Home Requirements This matters most for multi-story houses: if you sleep upstairs, you cannot put a younger foster child in a finished basement bedroom without clearing it with your worker.
Who Can Share a Bedroom
Children of opposite sexes who are 5 or older cannot share a bedroom unless the local department grants an exception. Younger opposite-sex children may share without special approval.1Maryland Department of Human Services. COMAR 07.02.25 Resource Home Requirements
Two children also cannot share a bedroom if their ages are more than five years apart, again unless the local department approves. A 4-year-old and a 10-year-old would trigger this rule.
A foster child cannot share a bedroom with an adult, regardless of the child’s age. The only exception to the adult-sharing rule covers infants under 1 year old who are the resource parent’s own biological or adopted child.1Maryland Department of Human Services. COMAR 07.02.25 Resource Home Requirements And no child, in any configuration, may share a bed with an adult or with another child.2Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 07.02.25.04 – Requirements for Resource Homes
The Bed Itself
Every child in the home needs a separate bed with a clean, comfortable mattress and bedding appropriate for the season.1Maryland Department of Human Services. COMAR 07.02.25 Resource Home Requirements Each child also needs adequate drawer and closet space for clothing and personal belongings.
Several common sleeping surfaces are not acceptable as permanent arrangements:
- Cots
- Sofa beds
- Roll-away beds
- Futons
- Inflatable mattresses
Bunk beds and trundle beds are allowed when the local department considers them appropriate.2Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 07.02.25.04 – Requirements for Resource Homes Bunk beds have to comply with federal safety standards under 16 CFR 1213: any upper bunk sitting more than 30 inches off the floor needs guardrails on both sides, the guardrail opposite the ladder has to run continuously between the end structures, and the top edges of the guardrails must sit at least 5 inches above the mattress.3eCFR. 16 CFR 1213.3 – Requirements A sturdy ladder is required.
Children under 2 must sleep in a crib or another secure bed designed for a child that age.2Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 07.02.25.04 – Requirements for Resource Homes A standard twin or full bed does not satisfy this for infants or toddlers.
Safety Equipment In and Around Sleeping Areas
The home must have a working smoke detector on every level, including the basement, and a working carbon monoxide detector in the immediate vicinity of each sleeping area.1Maryland Department of Human Services. COMAR 07.02.25 Resource Home Requirements A working fire extinguisher in the kitchen is also required. The home undergoes a fire safety assessment using a state-approved survey form, and the worker can request a full inspection by a fire marshal or certified fire inspector if anything raises concern.2Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 07.02.25.04 – Requirements for Resource Homes
Firearms must be stored unloaded in a locked area, with ammunition locked separately. Medications and dangerous household supplies have to be kept out of children’s reach. Any window coverings installed after October 1, 2010 must be cordless; coverings installed before that date must at minimum have no unsecured cords, beads, or strings.2Legal Information Institute. Maryland Code of Regulations 07.02.25.04 – Requirements for Resource Homes Window-cord rules apply throughout the house, but they matter especially in bedrooms, where cribs and children’s beds often sit near windows.
How Many Bedrooms You Actually Need
Bedroom planning depends on the household cap. The combined count of foster children and the resource parent’s own children living in the home cannot exceed six. Within that six, no more than two children under age 2 may live in the home at the same time, and no more than two children with a disability or special need may reside there.1Maryland Department of Human Services. COMAR 07.02.25 Resource Home Requirements The local department director can grant exceptions to any of these three limits to keep siblings together, preserve an existing relationship between a child and a resource parent, or otherwise serve the best interest of the children involved.
Working backward from those caps and the sharing rules usually tells you how many bedrooms you need. A home with two biological elementary-age girls and plans to foster a boy over age 5, for example, needs a third bedroom.
How These Rules Get Checked
Every one of these standards is verified during the resource home study, which includes a tour of the house, and the checks continue after a child is placed. Social workers return for follow-up visits and reconfirm bedroom arrangements, sleeping surfaces, and safety equipment throughout the placement.4Code of Maryland Regulations. Code of Maryland Regulations 07.02.25.06 – Resource Home Study Process A setup that passed on day one still has to pass months later: new child, new siblings, changed sleeping arrangement, swapped-out bed, and the compliance question gets asked again.