How Much Do Foster Parents Get Paid in Ohio: Rates, Extras, and Taxes

Foster parents in Ohio are paid a daily reimbursement that generally runs from about $24 to $95 per child, with the exact figure driven by the child’s age and level of need and by the agency that licenses you. Some high-acuity placements pay $130 or more per day. These payments are treated as reimbursements for the cost of caring for the child, not wages, and under federal law qualified foster care payments are excluded from your gross income, so you do not pay tax on them.¹

Base Daily Rates by Age

Ohio pays on a per diem basis: a set dollar amount for each day the child is in your home, totaled and paid monthly. The base rate covers food, shelter, daily supervision, and ordinary personal needs. Rates step up with age.

At one large county agency, the base board rates are $26.05 per day for children ages 0 through 5, $28.05 for ages 6 through 11, and $35.20 for ages 12 through 18.² Rates at other public agencies are similar. The framework for how agencies set these rates lives in Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 5101:2-47, and the Ohio Department of Children and Youth publishes updated ceiling rates each year.³

Higher Pay for Children With Greater Needs

Children who need more than routine care qualify for a supplemental “difficulty of care” payment stacked on top of the base rate. Ohio uses three tiers, and a professional assessment decides which one applies.⁴

Special needs covers moderate behavioral or emotional issues such as acting out, truancy, running away, or substance use, or a physical condition that a physician says needs specialized care. Total daily rates across private agencies at this level generally fall between $27 and $51.
Exceptional needs covers children in treatment foster homes who show more severe behaviors — verbal or physical aggression, self-harm, suicidal ideation — or who have significant physical or developmental disabilities requiring close supervision. A licensed professional must be involved in the child’s care at least every six months. Daily rates at this level generally run about $56 to $70.
Intensive needs covers the most severe therapeutic or medical situations, with weekly involvement from professionals such as psychiatrists, psychologists, or nurses, and sometimes round-the-clock monitoring. Rates typically run $63 to $95 per day, and specialized high-acuity placements can reach $138 or more.

These ranges come from the state’s Title IV-E reimbursement ceiling schedule effective April 2025 through March 2026, and specific numbers vary by agency.⁵ The statewide ceiling for purchased foster care services is $300 per day, but that cap applies only to the most extraordinary placements.

Public Agency vs. Private Agency Rates

Who licenses you affects what you are paid. Public Children Services Agencies are county-run and typically pay at or near state minimums. Private Non-custodial Agencies contract with the state and often pay more per day, because they layer in extra training, support, and specialized programming for the families they license.

You can see the gap in the state’s ceiling schedule: a traditional foster care placement through one private agency has a ceiling of $45.02 per day, while a comparable placement at another agency is set at $24.86.⁵ If pay matters to you, compare rate structures across a few agencies before you apply.

Other Money on Top of the Per Diem

The per diem is not the only payment. Ohio also reimburses specific costs that come up during a placement.

When a child first enters foster care, an initial clothing allowance is issued so they have adequate clothing. Ongoing clothing costs from growth, seasonal changes, or normal wear are also reimbursable, with minimums and maximums set annually and caps that vary by agency.⁶

School expenses (activity fees, lab supplies), graduation costs (cap and gown, for instance), personal incidentals, and reasonable travel for home visits are also reimbursable as long as they are not already baked into your per diem.⁷ Each category has an annual ceiling set by the state.

Training Stipends

Ohio pays foster caregivers $15 per hour for completing required training, calculated in quarter-hour increments. This covers both preplacement training, paid as a lump sum after you become certified, and ongoing continuing education, paid within 120 days of each session. Your recommending agency issues the payment.⁸

Stipends can be withheld if you did not pick up the skills the training was meant to teach and had to repeat it, or if the training fell outside your individualized training plan. Self-directed study with no in-person trainer does not qualify for a stipend.

The Child’s Medical Costs Are Covered by Medicaid

Every child in Ohio’s foster care system qualifies for Medicaid, with no income or resource test, whether the child is on Title IV-E federal foster care assistance or state foster care assistance.⁹ You should not need to add a foster child to your own health insurance. Doctor visits, dental care, mental health services, and prescriptions are covered.

Taxes: What You Owe and What You Can Claim

Qualified foster care payments — base maintenance and difficulty of care alike — are excluded from your gross income. You do not report them on your tax return, and they do not raise your adjusted gross income.¹

Claiming a Foster Child as a Dependent

You may be able to claim a foster child as a dependent under the IRS qualifying child test. The child must be placed with you by a government agency, court order, or licensed tax-exempt organization; must live in your home for more than half the tax year; must be under 19 (or under 24 if a full-time student); and must not have provided more than half of their own support. Agency payments count as agency support, not the child’s.¹⁰

If the qualifying child test isn’t met, the child may still be a qualifying relative if their gross income is under $5,300 (the 2026 threshold), they live with you all year, and you provide more than half their support.¹¹

Earned Income Tax Credit

A foster child placed with you by a state or local agency, tribal government, licensed tax-exempt organization, or court order can qualify you for the Earned Income Tax Credit if the child lives with you more than half the year and you meet the other EITC rules, including having earned income.¹² Temporary absences for school, medical care, or detention still count as time in your home.

Charitable Deduction for Out-of-Pocket Costs

Money you spend on a foster child beyond what the agency reimburses may be deductible as a charitable contribution, but only if your main motivation is to benefit the placing agency rather than a personal reason like planning to adopt the child. Driving related to foster care is deductible at 14 cents per mile, plus parking and tolls. You must itemize and keep written records.¹³

How and When You Get Paid

Ohio pays in arrears: the money for a given month arrives during the following month. You submit daily attendance logs confirming the child was in your home each night of the billing period, mileage logs for medical or court trips, and receipts for reimbursable expenses. Forms are agency-specific, usually handled through your caseworker or an online portal.

Once the agency verifies your logs, payment is sent by direct deposit or electronic payment card. The state tracks records through the Ohio Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System, which replaced the older SACWIS system in late 2024.¹⁴

If you’re overpaid because of a reporting error, the agency can recover it by reducing future payments, with federal rules requiring case-by-case handling to avoid undue hardship. Overpayments from intentional misreporting are treated more seriously, and agencies must pursue the full amount regardless of your current income or resources.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 131 – Certain Foster Care Payments
2
Summit County Children Services. Board Rates for SCCS Family Foster Homes
3
Legal Information Institute. Ohio Administrative Code 5101:2 Chapter 5101:2-47 – Title IV-E Foster Care Maintenance
4
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 5180:2-47-18 – Title IV-E Foster Care Maintenance Reimbursability: Difficulty of Care
5
Ohio Department of Children and Youth. Title IV-E Reimbursement Ceiling Per Diems 2025-2026
6
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 5101:2-47-19 – Title IV-E FCM Program Reimbursability: Payments, Reimbursements, Graduation Expenses and Personal Incidentals
7
Legal Information Institute. Ohio Administrative Code 5101:2-47-10 – Reimbursement for Title IV-E Foster Care Maintenance Costs for a Foster Home
8
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 5180:2-5-38 – Payment of Foster Caregiver Training
9
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 5160:1-4-06 – Eligibility for Medical Assistance for Individuals in Receipt of Adoption or Foster Care Assistance
10
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Publication 501 – Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information
11
Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-32
12
Internal Revenue Service. Qualifying Child Rules
13
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Publication 526 – Charitable Contributions
14
Ohio Department of Children and Youth. Family, Children and Adult Services Manual Transmittal No. 566