To become a foster parent in Indiana, you apply through the Department of Child Services (DCS) or a private Licensed Child Placing Agency, meet the state’s eligibility rules, complete 10 hours of pre-service training, pass a home study along with background checks and a home safety inspection, and then receive a four-year foster family home license. From first inquiry to license in hand, plan on several months.
Who Qualifies
You must be at least 21 and a legal Indiana resident. Single applicants, married couples, and unmarried partners are all eligible. Every household member goes through a medical evaluation so DCS can confirm the physical and mental health to care for children.
Finances get looked at, but wealth is not the test. DCS wants to see that your household already covers its own bills without leaning on foster payments, because the per diem is for the child’s needs rather than household income.1Indiana Department of Child Services. Indiana Department of Child Services Child Welfare Policy Chapter 12 Section 31 Financial Stability of Foster Family Home
Criminal history is where most applications fail. Indiana law permanently disqualifies anyone convicted of murder, kidnapping, sex offenses, child abuse, neglect, or incest. Battery, arson, felony drug charges, and felony DUI carry a five-year disqualification: a conviction within the last five years rules you out.2Indiana Department of Child Services. Indiana Department of Child Services Child Welfare Policy Chapter 13 Section 16 Waivers Beyond those, DCS can deny an application outright for any felony conviction or for a misdemeanor related to the health and safety of a child.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 31 Family Law and Juvenile Law 31-27-5-6 Denial of License Application
Background checks reach beyond you. Indiana requires checks on every adult household member, anyone who stays in the home for 21 or more days in a 12-month period, and anyone who works or volunteers in the home regularly with children in your care.4Indiana Department of Child Services. DCS Policy 13.09 Conducting Checks Foster Family Home Licensing
Where to Apply and What to File
You can start through your county DCS office or through a private Licensed Child Placing Agency. Indiana has dozens of active LCPAs, and some applicants prefer the more hands-on guidance a private agency offers.5Indiana Department of Child Services. Licensed Child Placing Agencies The route you pick does not change the license you end up with; both lead to the same state-issued credential.
The main form is the Application for Foster Family Home License (State Form 10100), which collects information on everyone in the household.6Indiana Department of Child Services. Foster/Relative Licensing and Placement Forms You will also sign a Background Check Consent form, submit medical report forms signed by a licensed physician for each household member, and complete a financial stability form showing income and expenses.
Start gathering these early. The two things most likely to stall your file are a doctor’s office slow to return medical paperwork and missing financial records.
Pre-Service Training
Before the home study can be completed, every applicant finishes 10 hours of pre-service training.7Indiana Department of Child Services. Foster Care Pre-Service Training The curriculum covers how trauma shapes children’s behavior, the goals of the foster system, working with biological families, and the day-to-day realities of parenting kids who have experienced disruption, abuse, or neglect. Keep every attendance certificate; they go into your licensing file.
The Home Study
Indiana uses the Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE) home study, which combines interviews, document review, and home visits. A licensing specialist meets with each household member individually and together to talk through your reasons for fostering, your parenting style, your own childhood, how you handle stress, and the support network around you. Honesty is more useful here than polish. The specialist is looking for families who know what they are signing up for, not perfect ones.
You will also need four reference forms. Up to one reference can be a relative; the rest must be non-relatives.8Indiana Department of Child Services. Family Preparation/Home Study Pick people who know you well and who will actually return the form quickly. Slow references slow the whole application.
Background Checks and Fingerprinting
Every adult in the home schedules a fingerprinting appointment through IdentoGO, the state’s authorized vendor.9Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. Provider Fingerprinting Services The prints run against both FBI and Indiana State Police records. There is a per-person fee; the current amount is listed on the IdentoGO scheduling site.
DCS also runs a child abuse and neglect registry check for every state you have lived in. If you have moved around, build in extra time, because each state processes those on its own schedule.
Home Safety Inspection
A licensing specialist walks through your home looking for working smoke detectors on every level, safe water temperatures, enough sleeping space for each child, medications and cleaning supplies stored out of reach, firearms in locked storage, and accessible fire extinguishers. It is a safety check, not a design review. If something is off, you usually get a chance to fix it and schedule a re-inspection rather than losing the application.
Getting the License and How Long It Lasts
Once your training certificates, home study, background checks, medical forms, financial evaluation, and inspection results are compiled, the full file goes to the DCS Central Office Licensing Unit for final review. Processing time depends on the unit’s workload and whether anything in your file needs clarification.
If approved, DCS issues your foster family home license, valid for four years.10Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-27-4-16 Duration of License Limitations Renewal The license is tied to you and your current address and does not transfer if you move. At the four-year mark you apply for relicensure, and your existing license stays active while that is processed.
Choosing a Care Level
Indiana licenses foster homes at several levels, which affects training hours and the per diem you receive.
- Standard Foster Care: children who need a safe home while DCS works toward reunification or another permanency plan.
- Foster Care with Services: children who need more support, such as regular therapy, but not a therapeutic-level home.
- Therapeutic Foster Care: children with significant emotional, behavioral, or medical needs. Licensees complete 20 hours of in-service training annually instead of the standard 15.11Indiana Department of Child Services. DCS Policy 12.14 In-Service Training Requirements
- Therapeutic Plus: the highest care level, for children with the most complex needs, with the highest per diem and the most intensive training.
- Kinship/Relative Care: when a child is removed, Indiana law requires the court to consider a qualified relative first. Relatives go through an adapted licensing process and receive the same per diem as non-relative homes.
What You’ll Be Paid
Indiana pays a daily per diem that scales with the child’s age and care level. For 2026, standard foster care runs from $27.86 per day for ages 0–4 up to $34.90 for ages 14–18. Therapeutic Plus runs from $71.52 per day for ages 0–4 up to $78.41 for ages 14–18, with Foster Care with Services and Therapeutic Foster Care falling between.12Indiana Department of Child Services. 2026 Foster Care Per Diem Letter
Converted to monthly figures, the standard rate for a school-age child comes to roughly $920 a month; Therapeutic Plus for a teenager is about $2,385. The payment is meant to cover the child’s food, clothing, personal items, and daily expenses, not to serve as household income.
Staying Licensed
The license is only the start. DCS conducts an annual review of every licensed foster home to confirm ongoing compliance, continuing each year until relicensure.13Indiana Department of Child Services. DCS Policy 12.15 Annual Review Foster Family Home Licensing Every licensed foster parent completes at least 15 hours of in-service training each year, or 20 hours if therapeutically certified.11Indiana Department of Child Services. DCS Policy 12.14 In-Service Training Requirements Common topics include trauma-informed care, managing challenging behaviors, and working with biological families.
You also keep the same safety standards in place, keep background checks current, and notify DCS of significant changes in the household, such as a new person moving in, a change of address, or a change in employment.