How to Become a Foster Parent in New York: Training and Home Study

To become a foster parent in New York, you must be at least 21, pass criminal and child abuse background checks, complete a state-approved training program, and open your home to a study by a certifying agency that confirms your household is safe and stable for a child. The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) sets the rules, and either your county’s local department of social services or a private voluntary agency handles your certification. Plan on roughly three to six months from your first inquiry to a final certificate.

Who Qualifies

Every foster parent must be over 21 years old under 18 NYCRR 443.2.¹ Single adults and married couples can both apply. Marital status is only considered to the extent it affects your ability to care for a child.

Everyone living in the household must be in good physical and mental health and free from communicable diseases. A written report from a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or other qualified health care practitioner, covering a complete physical exam, has to go to the certifying agency at application and every two years afterward.¹ A physical disability or illness does not automatically disqualify anyone; the agency looks at whether the condition would actually interfere with caring for a child.

You do not need to be wealthy. There is no income threshold in the regulations. The agency evaluates your ability to manage your financial resources through your references and documentation. Working foster parents are fine, as long as suitable arrangements exist for the child’s care and supervision during work hours.¹

Choose a Certifying Agency

Your first practical step is deciding who will certify you. Two options exist, and both draw from the same pool of children: your county’s local department of social services (LDSS), or a private voluntary agency under contract with the state. Some counties handle foster care directly; others route it through contracted agencies. OCFS keeps a directory on its website.

When you compare agencies, ask about the children they typically place, their training schedule, and the support they offer once a child is in your home. How quickly an agency returns your first call is a fair preview of how responsive they will be later. Most agencies hold free orientation sessions for prospective foster parents, and attending one before you commit gives you a realistic sense of what fostering involves.

Application and Documents

Once you choose an agency, you fill out a formal application. OCFS accepts electronic submissions through its online system, and paper submission through the local agency is still available.

You will need:

Government-issued identification for every adult in the household
Medical reports from a licensed health care practitioner for each household member, based on a complete physical exam¹
Three personal references who can speak to your character, judgment, financial responsibility, and rapport with children¹
Employment and financial information sufficient for the agency to assess household stability

The agency will contact your references directly, either by signed statement or in-person interview, and ask about your moral character, parenting capacity, and judgment. Gather everything early. Missing paperwork is the most common reason applications stall.

Pre-Certification Training

Every applicant must complete a state-approved preparation program before being certified. New York agencies most often use the Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (MAPP) or the Deciding Together curriculum. The courses usually run over several weeks and cover trauma-informed care, working with birth families, and how the child welfare system operates.

The training is practical rather than academic. You work through real scenarios and discuss how trauma shows up in a child’s behavior. It also gives you room to decide whether fostering is right for your family before you are too far in to step back comfortably.

The Home Study

The home study is the core of certification. A caseworker visits your home, usually more than once, to inspect the physical environment and to interview every household member in depth.

Physical Safety Standards

Your home must be in good condition and free of health and safety hazards. The specific standards under 18 NYCRR 443.3 include at least one functioning smoke detector, carbon monoxide detectors installed in accordance with state law, an adequate and safe supply of drinking water and hot water for bathing, window screens or guards or stoppers above the first floor, safe and adequate heating, and general compliance with state and local health and safety codes.²

Sleeping Arrangements

Each foster child needs a separate bed or crib, clean and appropriately sized, with suitable bedding for the season. Bunk beds are allowed. No bed may sit in an unfinished basement or attic. No more than three people may share a bedroom. Children over seven must have separate bedrooms from children of the opposite sex, unless they are siblings and the arrangement is necessary to keep them together. No child over three may sleep in the same room as an adult of the opposite sex, and no child may share a bed with an adult.² Each child must also have individual drawer and closet space.

Interviews

The caseworker interviews explore your motivation, your understanding of the foster parent role, and your psychological readiness. Expect questions about your family history, parenting approach, relationships with your own children if you have any, and how you handle stress. The agency also assesses whether you can work cooperatively with birth parents, since reunification is the goal for most placements. The final home study report recommends the age range and number of children your home can accommodate.

Background Checks and Disqualifying Offenses

Every prospective foster parent and every person over 18 living in the home is fingerprinted and run through a criminal history record check with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and the FBI. The agency must have results in hand before it issues certification.³

A separate check runs your name and each adult household member’s name through the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment. An indicated report on file can block certification.

Some convictions are absolute bars, with no exceptions:

A felony at any time involving child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, a crime against a child (including child pornography), or a violent crime such as rape, sexual assault, or homicide
A felony within the past five years for physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense⁴

A misdemeanor or a non-disqualifying felony will not automatically prevent certification, but the agency weighs it during the evaluation. If you know you have a criminal record, tell the agency early rather than waiting for the fingerprints to come back.

Timeline and Final Certificate

Regulatory guidance calls for the home study itself to be completed within 60 days of a completed application. The full path from first inquiry to final certificate usually takes longer, because it also includes weeks of pre-certification training, fingerprint processing, and reference checks. Plan on three to six months, depending on how quickly you finish training and submit documents, and how backed up your agency is.

Once every piece is in order, the agency issues a certificate to board (for agency-certified homes) or a letter of approval (for homes approved by the local department of social services). Your home goes on the placement registry, and first placements typically come by phone call.

Board Rate and Tax Treatment

New York pays foster parents a daily board rate to cover the child’s basic needs: food, clothing, shelter, and personal care. The rate varies by the child’s age and level of need, with higher payments for children who need therapeutic or specialized care. OCFS publishes updated rate schedules on its website each fiscal year. Working foster parents may also receive childcare funding, and every foster child is covered by Medicaid.

The board rate is not income. Section 131 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes qualified foster care payments from gross income under federal law, so the reimbursements do not appear as earnings on your tax return.⁵

Staying Certified

Certification is not permanent. Foster homes are recertified every year, which means updated documentation, continued compliance with home safety standards, and completion of required training hours. Foster parents in regular foster care programs must complete at least six hours of recertification training annually. Foster parents caring for children in therapeutic or treatment programs need at least twelve hours per year, split between six hours of general recertification training and six hours of child-specific training.⁶ The biennial medical report requirement continues too. Your agency tracks recertification deadlines, but staying ahead of training hours and medical exams keeps gaps from disrupting a placement.

1
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 18 NYCRR 443.2 – Study and Evaluation of Foster Family Boarding Home Applications
2
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 18 NYCRR 443.3 – Certification or Approval of Foster Family Homes
3
Justia Law. New York Social Services Law 378-a – Access to Conviction Records by Authorized Agencies
4
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Mandatory Disqualification of Foster and Adoptive Parents Based on Criminal History Record Checks
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 131 – Certain Foster Care Payments
6
Administration for Children’s Services. Foster Home Certification/Approval and Annual Reauthorization Memorandum