To become a foster parent in Mecklenburg County, you need to be at least 21, have lived in the county for six months, support yourself without public assistance, pass criminal and child-welfare background checks, complete 30 hours of pre-service training, and get through a home study and safety inspection before the state issues your license. The county’s Child, Family and Adult Services division runs the process, and it typically takes several months from first call to approval.
Who Qualifies
You must be 21 or older.1Mecklenburg County. Criteria for Becoming a Foster Parent You must have lived in Mecklenburg County for at least six months before applying.2Mecklenburg County. Foster Home Licensing and Placement Marital status doesn’t matter; single applicants and married couples are both eligible. You don’t have to own your home either. Renters qualify as long as the property passes safety inspection.
Money is where the county draws a hard line. You need stable income from work or retirement, and you cannot be receiving TANF, food stamps, Work First benefits, or public housing subsidies.1Mecklenburg County. Criteria for Becoming a Foster Parent The monthly board payment is meant to cover the child, not prop up the household. You also cannot have any prior involvement with child protective services.2Mecklenburg County. Foster Home Licensing and Placement
Criminal History That Disqualifies You
North Carolina applies the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. A felony conviction for any of the following, by any adult in the household, is a permanent bar to licensure, and it cannot be waived or appealed:
- Child abuse or neglect
- Spousal abuse
- Crimes against children, including child pornography
- Violent crimes such as rape, sexual assault, and homicide
Physical assault, battery, and drug-related felonies fall under a five-year lookback rather than a permanent bar: a conviction within the past five years disqualifies, but the block lifts once that window has passed.3North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 131D-10.3A – Mandatory Criminal Checks If a license is denied on criminal-history grounds, the applicant can request an administrative hearing under North Carolina’s Administrative Procedure Act.4North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 131D – Article 1A
The Application, Background Checks, and Medicals
The formal process starts with the North Carolina DHHS Foster Home Application, which you complete with your assigned licensing worker. It asks in detail about your household, personal history, and reasons for wanting to foster.5North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. How To Foster and or Adopt
Every adult 18 or older living in the home has to be fingerprinted for a criminal background check through the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI.3North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 131D-10.3A – Mandatory Criminal Checks The state fingerprint-based check currently costs $38.6North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Fingerprinting County-level criminal records are pulled in as well.
Every person living in the home also needs a medical evaluation. A licensed provider must examine each household member within the 12 months before your initial application, and each person submits a medical history form and a tuberculosis screening.7North Carolina Administrative Code. 10A NCAC 70E 1104 – Criteria For The Family The provider signs a state medical evaluation form confirming you are physically and mentally able to care for a foster child.8North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. DSS-5156 Child Welfare Services Medical Evaluation Dogs and cats in the home need current rabies vaccination records.9North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Foster Home Licensing Manual
Training and the Home Study
Every applicant completes at least 30 hours of pre-service training through TIPS-MAPP (Trauma Informed Partnering for Safety and Permanence — Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting). The course covers how the child welfare system works, how foster parents fit alongside biological families and caseworkers, and how to parent children who have experienced loss and trauma.5North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. How To Foster and or Adopt It’s also a mutual assessment; the training helps you and the agency decide together whether fostering fits your family.
While you’re in training, a licensing social worker conducts a home study. That means in-home interviews with everyone in the household and a physical walk-through of the property. The worker assesses your parenting strengths across a set of skill areas defined by state rule, from communication to helping a child manage behavior and maintain their cultural identity.7North Carolina Administrative Code. 10A NCAC 70E 1104 – Criteria For The Family
Your home must pass a fire and building safety inspection by the local fire inspector before the license issues.10Legal Information Institute. 10A North Carolina Administrative Code 70E 1108 – Fire And Building Safety Once training and the home study are complete, the licensing worker submits the full packet to the NC Division of Social Services for final approval.11North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Foster Care
What Your Home Has to Look Like
North Carolina’s administrative code is specific about the physical setup. Every foster child needs their own bed with a real mattress, sheets, and blankets. Daybeds and pull-out couches don’t count as a permanent sleeping arrangement. Children of opposite sexes can’t share a bedroom after age five, no more than four children can share a single room, and a child under six can’t share a room with a child over 12 unless they are siblings placed together.12Legal Information Institute. 10A North Carolina Administrative Code 70E 1111 – Room Arrangements Each child gets their own drawer and closet space.
On the safety side, working smoke alarms are required, with placement depending on when the home was built. Homes constructed after June 1999 need interconnected smoke alarms in every sleeping room and outside bedrooms. Homes that use gas, oil, coal, or wood for heating, cooking, or hot water need a carbon monoxide detector. You need at least one mounted ABC fire extinguisher, and all exits have to stay clear.10Legal Information Institute. 10A North Carolina Administrative Code 70E 1108 – Fire And Building Safety Cleaning chemicals, medications, flammable liquids, and poisons have to be stored out of reach. Firearms, ammunition, and explosive materials each need separate locked storage.
Board Payments and Medical Coverage
Once you’re licensed and a child is placed, you receive a monthly board payment on a graduated scale set by the state:
- Birth through age 5: $702
- Ages 6 through 12: $742
- Ages 13 through 20: $810
Funding is a mix of federal, state, and county dollars, and $15 of each monthly payment is earmarked as a personal needs allowance for the child.13North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 108A-49.1 – Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Payment14North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. NC DSS Foster Care Funding Appendix 3.5 Children with specialized medical or behavioral needs may qualify for a higher rate.
Medical care isn’t your bill to pay. Every child in foster care receiving maintenance payments is automatically eligible for Medicaid under federal law.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 672 – Foster Care Maintenance Payments Program In North Carolina, foster children are enrolled in the Children and Families Specialty Plan through NC Medicaid, which covers health, behavioral health, and dental services.16NC Medicaid. Children and Families Specialty Plan
Your Rights After Licensure
North Carolina has a Foster Parents’ Bill of Rights. You’re entitled to notice of all court hearings about the child in your home and the right to be heard at those hearings in person or in writing. You get at least 15 days’ advance notice of periodic case reviews and can weigh in on the child’s best interests. You have access to what’s known about the child’s health history, behavioral needs, trauma exposure, and school situation. You get advance notice of case-planning meetings, reasonable notice before a child is moved out of your home, and a 24/7 emergency contact for crisis situations.17North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 131D-10.9C – Foster Parents Bill of Rights
One important limit. A violation of the Foster Parents’ Bill of Rights does not give you standing to sue the state, DHHS, a private agency, or the county DSS. These are policy commitments, not a private cause of action.
How to Start in Mecklenburg County
Call Mecklenburg County’s Child, Family and Adult Services division at 704-336-KIDS (5437) to begin.18Mecklenburg County. Foster Care The main office is at 3205 Freedom Drive, Suite 1000, Charlotte, NC 28208. The county also runs resource centers at the Ella B. Scarborough Community Resource Center on Stitt Road and the Catherine M. Wilson Center on Billingsley Road. An initial phone call is enough to open the conversation and see whether the next steps make sense for your household.