South Carolina Foster Care Requirements and Licensing

To become a licensed foster parent in South Carolina, you must meet the state’s foster care requirements: be at least 21 (18 for relatives and fictive kin), pass FBI and SLED background checks, show income that covers your household without foster payments, complete a physical exam, meet home safety standards, and finish the SCDSS-approved pre-license training. From application to approval, expect 60 to 90 days.¹

Who Can Apply

Non-relative applicants must be at least 21. Relatives and fictive kin (people with a close family-like bond to the child) can apply at 18.² There is no upper age limit, but the home study will look at whether you can handle the physical and emotional demands of parenting.

Single, married, divorced, and widowed adults are all eligible. If you live with another adult, whether a spouse, partner, or roommate, that person must apply with you. SCDSS cannot deny a license based on marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.³

Background Checks and Disqualifying Convictions

You and every household member 18 or older must submit fingerprints for FBI and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) checks. SCDSS also checks the South Carolina Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect, the National Sex Offender Public Website, the state sex offender registry, and child abuse registries in every state where anyone in the household has lived for the past five years.⁴

A substantiated history of child abuse or neglect is an automatic disqualifier. So is a conviction or guilty plea for any of the following:

Homicide, assault, kidnapping, and related offenses against persons under Chapter 3, Title 16
Sexual and morality offenses under Chapter 15, Title 16, and first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor
Criminal domestic violence, including the high-and-aggravated form
Contributing to the delinquency of a minor, unlawful conduct toward a child, cruelty to children, and child endangerment
Any felony drug conviction under South Carolina law

These bars are permanent and apply to equivalent convictions from other states or under federal law. A pardon removes the bar, though SCDSS will still weigh the underlying facts in the home study.⁴

For any conviction not on that list, SCDSS reviews the situation case by case. It looks at the type and number of offenses, how long ago they happened, your age at the time, evidence of rehabilitation, and whether the offense has any bearing on your ability to care for a child.⁵

Financial Requirements

You must show stable, verifiable income sufficient to cover shelter, food, utilities, clothing, and other household expenses before a foster child is placed with you. SCDSS verifies this through tax returns, pay stubs, and bank statements. Promised gifts and donations do not count.²

Monthly board payments from the state help cover a foster child’s daily costs but cannot be the financial foundation of your household. SCDSS expects families to be self-sufficient without them. As of July 2025, the standard monthly board rates are $700 for ages 0–5, $818 for ages 6–12, and $863 for ages 13–20. Children with higher medical or behavioral needs may qualify for additional funding.⁶

Working foster parents may also qualify for federal child care assistance through the Child Care and Development Fund. Foster parents fall within the program’s definition of eligible parents, and family income must not exceed 85 percent of the state median income for a family of the same size.⁷

Medical Exam

Every applicant and every household member must have a physical exam from a licensed health care provider. The results must be dated within one year of the application and must explicitly state that you can care for additional children. SCDSS may ask for further documentation or evaluation if it has questions.² The exam is an out-of-pocket cost, and the price depends on your insurance and provider. Schedule it early so it doesn’t hold up your application.

Home Safety Standards

Your home can be a house, mobile home, apartment, or other housing unit. SCDSS inspects for specific safety standards before licensing and returns periodically to check them. The requirements that most often trip people up involve sleeping arrangements, firearms, and pools.

Sleeping Arrangements

Every child needs an adequate sleep space with appropriate bedding. Infants under 12 months must have a dedicated sleep space, such as a crib, bassinet, or pack-and-play, kept clear of blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals. Older children can use beds, futons, sleeper sofas, or air mattresses, though SCDSS advises against top bunks for children under six. Rooms other than bedrooms can serve as sleeping spaces if they have a window large enough for emergency egress, permanent walls, and proper flooring. No child may sleep in a detached building, an unfinished basement, or an unfinished attic.⁸

Firearms, Pools, and Hazardous Materials

All firearms, air guns, BB guns, and other projectile weapons must be stored inoperable in a locked area inaccessible to children. Ammunition must be locked separately. Swimming pools and wading pools need a safety device or barrier, such as a latch, lock, protective fence, or cover. Hazardous chemicals and medications must be stored where children cannot reach them.⁸

Detectors

Working smoke detectors are required on every floor. Homes with gas appliances also need a carbon monoxide detector.⁸

Pre-License Training

Before licensing, you must complete the SCDSS-approved pre-license training program. It currently runs in a hybrid format: self-paced online modules followed by virtual check-in sessions with a trainer. The curriculum covers:

The child welfare system, foster parent rights and responsibilities, court processes, and applicable laws
Trauma concepts and behavioral management
Child and adolescent brain development and early learning
Grief, loss, and separation, and how they affect children in care
Child abuse and neglect prevention
Internet safety, social media safety, and sex trafficking warning signs
Independent living skills for older youth
First aid and CPR for the ages of children in placement, plus bloodborne pathogen training

⁹ The self-paced portion lets you work on your own schedule; the virtual sessions give you a chance to practice and to meet other prospective foster parents.

The Home Study

A caseworker from SCDSS or a licensed child-placing agency runs the home study, which combines in-depth interviews with a physical inspection. Expect questions about your parenting approach, discipline philosophy, household dynamics, motivation for fostering, and willingness to support a child’s relationship with their biological family.

The final assessment pulls everything together: financial verification, background check results, medical exam findings, training completion, and the caseworker’s evaluation of your readiness. SCDSS can request additional information at any point in the process.²

License Term and Ongoing Training

Once you meet every requirement, SCDSS issues a foster care license valid for two years. The full process typically takes 60 to 90 days, though delays with background checks, training schedules, or documents can stretch it.¹

To keep your license, you must complete at least 15 hours of training a year, or 30 hours across the two-year license period. Health Care Oversight and Psychotropic Medication training is required annually and is the only course accepted twice within a single renewal cycle.⁹ You must also report significant household changes, such as a shift in finances or a new household member, so SCDSS can reassess.

1
Department of Social Services. Getting Licensed
2
Cornell Law School. SC Code Regs 114-550 – Licensure of Family Foster Homes and Approval of Adoptive Homes for Children in Foster Care
3
South Carolina Legislature. Regulation 114550 – Licensure of Family Foster Homes and Approval of Adoptive Homes for Children in Foster Care
4
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 63 Chapter 7 – Section 63-7-2350
5
South Carolina Legislature. Regulation 114550 – Licensure of Family Foster Homes and Approval of Adoptive Homes for Children in Foster Care
6
Department of Social Services. Board Rate
7
Child Care Technical Assistance Network. Understanding Federal Eligibility Requirements
8
South Carolina Legislature. Chapter 114 – Department of Social Services
9
SCDSS Staff Development and Training. Foster and Adoptive Parent Training Guidelines