How to Become a Foster Parent in California: Steps and Pay

To become a foster parent in California, you go through Resource Family Approval (RFA), a single process that qualifies you to foster, take guardianship, or adopt a child in state care. You apply through your county child welfare agency or a private Foster Family Agency, clear background checks, complete at least 12 hours of pre-approval training, and pass a home assessment and family evaluation. Most families finish in three to nine months.

Who Can Apply

You must be at least 18 and live in California. Marital status doesn’t matter: single, married, divorced, or partnered applicants are all eligible. California explicitly welcomes applicants of any race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, or disability status.¹

There is no minimum income. The state wants to see that your household can cover its own basic expenses, and it recognizes that the monthly payment you receive for a child will help with that child’s costs. Relying on that payment for the child-related portion of household expenses is not, by itself, grounds for denial.²

The statute also asks you to demonstrate an understanding of the needs of children who have experienced abuse or neglect, a willingness to work cooperatively with the placing agency and the child’s birth family, and a commitment to supporting the child regardless of the child’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.²

Choose a County Agency or a Foster Family Agency

Your first step is deciding who will walk you through RFA. You have two options: your county child welfare agency, which handles placements directly, or a private Foster Family Agency (FFA), a nonprofit that recruits, trains, and certifies resource families on behalf of the state. Either path leads to the same approval status. The California Department of Social Services maintains a searchable directory of licensed FFAs and county contacts on its website.³ Many counties hold regular orientation sessions so you can hear the process laid out before committing.

The Steps to Approval

Once you pick an agency, the RFA process runs on five tracks that overlap in time.

The Application

The application asks for personal information, household details, and consent for background checks. You’ll need identification such as a driver’s license, Social Security cards for household members, proof of income, medical clearance forms, and personal references. Providing false information is a misdemeanor under California law, punishable by fines, incarceration, or both, and you sign a declaration that the information is true and correct.²

Background Checks and Medical Screening

Every adult living in your household is checked. You submit electronic fingerprints through a LiveScan service, which are run against criminal history databases and the California Child Abuse Central Index.¹ Medical screenings, including a tuberculosis test, are part of the process. The RFA process itself is free, but you may pay out of pocket for fingerprinting and medical exams, typically $25 to $125 combined. Your assigned social worker can help identify free or low-cost options.

Any criminal conviction other than a minor traffic violation triggers a disqualification that requires a formal exemption from CDSS. That includes misdemeanors, felonies, and convictions from decades ago. CDSS reviews exemption requests on a case-by-case basis, weighing the nature of the offense, how long ago it occurred, and evidence of rehabilitation. Sixty crimes are permanently non-exemptible, including murder, rape, torture, kidnapping, and any offense requiring sex offender registration. If any adult in the household has one of those convictions, the application cannot move forward.⁴

Pre-Approval Training

California law requires a minimum of 12 hours of pre-approval training before any child can be placed with you. Many agencies exceed that minimum.⁵ The curriculum varies by agency but must cover a defined set of competencies:

How abuse, neglect, and removal affect children at different ages, and how trauma shapes behavior
How the child welfare system works, including placements, permanency timelines, and your role in the child’s case plan
How to work with birth families, including visits and communication
Cultural humility, including your own biases and the child’s cultural, racial, and religious background
The personal rights of children in foster care and your responsibility to protect them

Training is offered in person, online, and in hybrid formats. After approval, you must complete at least eight hours of continuing education each year to maintain your status.⁵ Community colleges across California also offer free or low-cost foster parent training that counts toward those hours.

Home Assessment

A social worker visits your home and uses a standardized checklist to verify health and safety standards.⁶ The basics: working smoke detectors, safe storage for medications and cleaning supplies, adequate sleeping space, functioning plumbing and heating, and outdoor areas free of hazards. You don’t need a large house, but the child must have their own bed and reasonable personal space. Firearms must be stored locked and separate from ammunition.

Family Evaluation

The family evaluation is more personal. Your social worker interviews every household member, separately and together. Topics include your motivations for fostering, your parenting experience and style, your own upbringing, how your household handles stress, your support network, and any mental health or substance use history. It’s not a pass-fail exam looking for perfect people. The worker is assessing whether you have the self-awareness and stability to handle what can be a genuinely difficult experience.⁶

How Long It Takes

On paper, the state targets 90 days from a complete application to an approval decision. In practice, most families report three to nine months, depending on the county and how quickly you complete each step. Delays usually come from scheduling training, waiting on background check results, or coordinating the home visit.

What You’ll Be Paid and What’s Covered

California pays resource families a monthly rate based on the child’s assessed level of care. For fiscal year 2025–2026, the base rates are:

Level of Care Basic: $1,301 per month
Level of Care 2: $1,447 per month
Level of Care 3: $1,596 per month
Level of Care 4: $1,741 per month

Children with additional needs may qualify for Special Care Increments ranging from $148 to $1,187 per month on top of the base rate. Families caring for an infant receive an extra $900 monthly supplement, and a $200 sibling supplement applies when you care for siblings placed together.⁷ The payments cover the child’s food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision, school supplies, personal care, and reasonable travel, and you also receive a clothing allowance. The money is reimbursement for the child’s costs, not income for you.

Under IRC Section 131, qualified foster care payments from a state or local agency for a child living in your home are excluded from your gross income. That covers both the base rate and difficulty-of-care payments for children with physical, mental, or emotional needs. The exclusion applies to up to 10 foster children under age 19 or up to five who are 19 or older; payments for anyone beyond those thresholds become taxable.⁸ A foster child placed by a state agency, tribal government, licensed tax-exempt organization, or court order who lives with you for more than half the tax year may also qualify you for the Earned Income Tax Credit if the child meets the IRS’s age, residency, joint return, and Social Security number tests.⁹

Every child in California’s foster care system is automatically eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal with no share of cost and no household income or resource limits. That covers medical care, Medi-Cal Dental, mental health and substance use treatment, prescription drugs, vision, and preventive services. You do not add the child to your own health insurance, and Medi-Cal continues regardless of changes in your income or household during the placement.

After You’re Approved

Your RFA status covers foster care, guardianship, and adoption, so you won’t repeat the process if your role changes.¹⁰ Approval is not an entitlement to a placement. The agency matches children with families based on the child’s needs, age, sibling group, and any special circumstances, weighed against your strengths and preferences. You can specify the ages, number, and needs of children you’re prepared to accept, and when a potential match comes up you’ll typically get a call with details before you agree. You have the right to decline any specific placement that isn’t a good fit.

Ongoing support runs through your assigned social worker, who conducts regular check-in visits, more often in the first weeks. Beyond that worker, several supports are available:

Continuing education workshops on topics like challenging behaviors, supporting LGBTQ+ youth, and navigating school systems; these count toward your eight annual hours.
Peer support groups run by counties and FFAs, where resource parents share what has actually worked.
Subsidized respite care so another approved caregiver can look after the child while you take a short break. Policies vary by county; Los Angeles County, for example, allows up to 72 hours of respite per child per fiscal year, and you generally find your own approved respite provider with help from your social worker.¹¹

Your Rights Once a Child Is Placed

If the agency plans to remove a child from your home (other than in an emergency), you’re entitled to advance notice and the reason for the removal, and you can request a grievance review through CDSS if you disagree. The grievance process does not apply when a court orders the placement change, when the child is in immediate danger, or when a birth parent requests the return of a voluntarily placed child.¹²

1
Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. Become a Foster Parent in Los Angeles County
2
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 16519.5
3
California Department of Social Services. Foster Family Agencies
4
California Department of Social Services. Exemptions
5
Justia Law. California Health and Safety Code 1529.1-1529.2
6
California Department of Social Services. Resource Family Approval Written Directives
7
County of Santa Clara Social Services Agency. 2026 Foster Care Rates
8
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 17 (2025), Your Federal Income Tax
9
Internal Revenue Service. Qualifying Child Rules
10
California Department of Social Services. Resource Family Approval Program
11
Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. Respite Care Services
12
Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. Placement Preservation Strategy and 14-Day Advanced Notice