How to Become a Foster Parent in Montana: Requirements, Steps, and Pay

To become a foster parent in Montana, you apply through the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), pass criminal and child protective services background checks, complete an 18-hour pre-service training called Keeping Children Safe, and pass a home study conducted by a Resource Family Specialist. The license is free, the full process usually takes three to six months, and once you’re licensed the state reimburses $31.36 per day per child for regular and kinship placements.¹²

Who Qualifies

You must be at least 18, in good general health, and physically, mentally, and emotionally able to care for a child. You do not have to be married, and single applicants are eligible. Couples must have lived together for at least 24 months unless DPHHS grants an exception. You can rent or own; the home itself just has to meet safety standards.³

There is no minimum income, but your household has to be able to support itself without counting on foster care reimbursements. The department wants to see that adding a child won’t destabilize your finances.³

Everyone in the household is part of the picture. No one who lives with you or regularly visits can pose a safety risk to a child, and the home environment can’t expose foster children to sexual or violent language, behavior, or media inappropriate for their age. You must also comply with state laws on drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and firearms.³

Every household member has to submit a personal statement of health form, and the department can require a psychological or medical evaluation of any applicant or household member if it has concerns. Results can factor into the licensing decision.⁴⁵

What Your Home Has To Provide

Each foster child needs their own bed in a room designated as a bedroom that provides privacy. Opposite-sex children age five and older cannot share a bedroom. The total number of children living in the home, including your own, tops out at seven, with no more than six of those being foster children. A Regional Administrator can grant an exception.⁶

Background Checks

You and every adult in the household go through criminal, motor vehicle, and child protective services checks. Montana law requires fingerprint-based criminal records checks run through the Montana Department of Justice and the FBI. If fingerprints can’t be read after two attempts, the department switches to a name-based check — state-level if you’ve only lived in Montana, federal if you’ve lived elsewhere.⁷⁸

Child protective services checks are pulled from every state where you or an adult household member has lived in at least the past five years. Once you’re licensed, you’ll do an annual name-based criminal records check at renewal.⁸

The Steps, In Order

Contact your local Child and Family Services Division (CFSD) office and ask for an inquiry packet. The packet contains the foster care application, which asks about your household, your background, and the age range, sex, and number of children you’re prepared to care for.

With the application, you and every adult in the home will need to send in:

A financial statement showing your household can support itself without the reimbursement.
A notarized release of information authorizing the background checks.⁹
A personal statement of health for every household member.⁴
Immunization records for any children under 12 already living in the home.
Fingerprint cards the department provides, with instructions on where to get printed locally.¹⁰

Next comes training. Keeping Children Safe is an 18-hour pre-service program covering child maltreatment, child development, positive parenting techniques, and what to expect when a child enters your home. Every prospective foster parent has to attend, including kinship parents, unless a regional administrator gives a written exception. After you’re licensed, you’ll need at least 15 hours of additional training each year to renew.¹¹¹²

Then a Resource Family Specialist runs the home study. The interview side includes questionnaires about your household and parenting approach, one-on-one conversations with you and every household member, and calls with your personal references. The specialist is trying to understand what kind of child would thrive in your home. The physical side is a walk-through of the house against Montana’s rules on sleeping arrangements, environmental safety, and fire safety. Smoke detectors, bedroom setup, and general home conditions all get checked here.

Once the application, training, home study, and background checks are complete, the department decides whether to issue the license. The first license runs one year from the date of issuance, with the possibility of a 60-day extension.¹³

Which License You’ll Hold

Montana issues three types of foster home licenses. A regular youth foster home license lets you accept any child the department matches to your home, up to six foster children. A kinship license is restricted to specific children you already have a tie to — extended family, tribal members, godparents, stepparents, or someone with a significant prior emotional bond. If a kinship family later wants to take non-kin children, the department switches them to a regular license.¹⁴ A therapeutic foster home license covers children with higher behavioral or medical needs and pays a higher daily rate.

Regular and kinship licenses renew every two years after that first one-year license. Therapeutic licenses renew annually. Either way, renewal means another relicensing study confirming you still meet the requirements.¹³

What Montana Pays

For state fiscal year 2026, regular and kinship foster homes receive $31.36 per day per child regardless of the child’s age. Therapeutic foster care pays $39.74 per day. The rate is a reimbursement for room, board, clothing, and related costs.²

Children in foster care are typically covered by Medicaid for medical expenses, and additional financial assistance is sometimes available when a specific child’s needs call for it.¹⁵

After You’re Licensed

Once you hold a license, the department matches children to families based on the child’s needs and your strengths and preferences. Some families get matched quickly; some wait. Montana has particular need for families willing to take teenagers, children with developmental or medical needs, and sibling groups.¹⁵

In most cases the goal is reunification with the child’s biological family, and foster parents are expected to support that. That means cooperating with the caseworker, joining family team meetings, and helping keep the child’s connections intact when it’s safe to do so.

If Your Application Is Denied

You have 30 days from the date the certified denial letter is mailed to request a fair hearing. A hearing officer reviews the case and issues findings of fact and a recommended order. If you disagree, you can appeal in writing to the DPHHS Director within 15 days of the mailing date, extendable up to 45 days for good cause. The Director’s final decision can then be taken to District Court within 30 days, though the court reviews only what’s already in the hearing record.¹⁶

1
Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 52-8-103 – License Required – Exception – Term of License – No Fee Charged
2
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Montana Foster Care Daily Rates by Service Code
3
Legal Information Institute. Montana Admin. R. 37.51.301 – Youth Foster Homes: General Requirements for Foster Parents and Other Household Members
4
Legal Information Institute. Montana Admin. R. 37.51.305 – Youth Foster Homes: Health Verification Requirements
5
Legal Information Institute. Montana Admin. R. 37.51.311 – Youth Foster Homes
6
Legal Information Institute. Montana Admin. R. 37.51.816 – Youth Foster Homes: Sleeping Arrangements and Requirements
7
Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 52-2-622 – Issuance of License – Authority of Issuing Agency – Rules
8
Legal Information Institute. Montana Admin. R. 37.51.310 – Youth Foster Homes: Criminal Background Checks
9
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Child and Family Services Licensing Policy Manual – Resource Family Overview
10
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Child and Family Services Licensing Policy Manual – Resource Family Criminal Records and Protective Service Checks
11
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Child and Family Services Licensing Policy Manual – Resource Family Training Requirements
12
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Montana Foster Home Licensing and Re-licensing Requirements
13
Legal Information Institute. Montana Admin. R. 37.51.203 – Youth Foster Homes: Licensure and Renewal
14
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Child and Family Services Licensing Policy Manual – Kinship Foster Care
15
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Becoming a Foster Parent in Montana
16
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Child and Family Services Licensing Policy Manual – Adverse Licensing Action