How to Become a Foster Parent in Colorado

Right now, somewhere in Colorado, there’s a child who needs a safe place to sleep tonight. That’s not a figure of speech. According to the Colorado Department of Human Services, in 2023 the state had an average of 395 children legally freed and waiting for a permanent home, and the need for foster families is especially acute for sibling groups and teens. The Colorado Department of Human Services oversees the foster care system, and the goal it sets for itself is clear: keep children with their families when possible, and when that’s not possible, find them a family that will show up for them.

The process to get licensed is real and it takes time. You’ll go through an application, background checks, training, and a home study before a child is placed with you. The sections below walk you through exactly what to expect.

Who can be a foster parent in Colorado?

Most people who look into foster care assume they won’t qualify. They’re wrong. Colorado’s requirements are broader than you’d expect, and the state is genuinely trying to find good homes, not reasons to turn people away.

Age

You need to be at least 18 years old. There’s no upper age limit. According to Colorado’s rules regulating family foster care homes, a foster care home is defined as a place of residence of a family or person, which means a single adult can apply just as a couple can.

Marital status and household composition

You don’t have to be married. Single people foster children in Colorado every day. Couples, whether married or not, can apply together. The regulations focus on your ability to provide safe, stable care, not on the shape of your family. Your own children, if you have them, will be part of the home study process, and the licensing agency will look at the overall dynamics of your household.

Income

You don’t have to be wealthy, but you do need to show that your household can cover its own expenses without relying on foster care payments to stay afloat. The Colorado foster parent application asks about your income and financial situation so the certifying agency can confirm that basic household needs are already being met. Foster care payments are meant to help cover the costs of caring for a child, not to serve as household income.

Requirements vary by county, so check with your agency for specifics on how income is reviewed.

Physical and mental health

You’ll need to show that you’re healthy enough to care for a child. That doesn’t mean you have to be in perfect health. It means your physical and mental health can’t interfere with your ability to provide safe, consistent care. The foster parent application includes a health history section covering both physical and mental health, and your certifying agency will review it as part of the home study. People manage chronic conditions, take medication, and live with disabilities while being excellent foster parents. What matters is whether your health allows you to meet a child’s needs day to day.

Your home

You don’t need to own your home. Renters can foster. What the state cares about is that your space is safe, clean, and has enough room for a child. Colorado foster care regulations set specific space requirements that will be reviewed during your home study, including sleeping space for each child in placement.

The bottom line

Colorado can license a single adult in a two-bedroom apartment or a married couple in a farmhouse. The question the state is asking isn’t “are you perfect?” It’s “can you provide a safe, nurturing home for a child who needs one?” The CO4Kids foster care FAQ puts it plainly: Colorado needs more foster families, and the door is open to a wide range of people willing to step up.

Background check requirements in Colorado

Before a child can spend a single night in your home, the state needs to know who lives there. Understanding what’s required will keep your application from stalling.

Who has to complete checks

Every adult in your household goes through background screening, not just the applicants. The Colorado Department of Human Services foster care application collects identifying information for all household members, and each adult will need to complete the required clearances. If you have a partner, a grown child living at home, or another adult under your roof, plan for all of them to be screened.

What checks are required

There are three main components:

• CBI and FBI fingerprint check. This is a criminal history check run through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the FBI. You’ll schedule an appointment with IdentoGO or Colorado Fingerprinting to have your fingerprints taken. According to Colorado’s background check guidance from the Department of Early Childhood, all applicants must complete CBI and FBI fingerprinting before any other background check materials can be processed.
• Trails check (child abuse and neglect registry). Colorado maintains a registry of substantiated child abuse and neglect reports called Trails. Every adult in the household is checked against it. The fee for this check is $30 per applicant, payable to the Colorado Department of Early Childhood by credit card, e-check, or mailed check.
• Out-of-state checks. If you’ve lived outside Colorado in the past five years, including U.S. territories like Puerto Rico or Guam, you’ll need to request a criminal history check and a child abuse and neglect registry check from each state where you lived. The state-based background check checklist walks through what’s required for each state. Each state has up to 45 days to return results, so if you’ve moved around recently, build that time into your expectations.

Criminal history and what it means for your application

The foster care application asks directly whether you’ve ever been convicted of, received a deferred prosecution for, or received a deferred judgment for specific categories of offenses. The state foster care application lists those categories as:

• Felony
• Child abuse
• Crime of violence
• Domestic violence
• Drug offense
• Sexual offense
• Registered sex offender status
• Alcohol offense
• Misdemeanor

If you check any of these boxes, you’re asked to provide supplemental documentation, including the disposition, police report, and court documents. That doesn’t mean an automatic denial. The application is gathering facts, and your caseworker will work through the specifics with you. A decades-old misdemeanor is a different situation than a recent felony. What you don’t disclose will likely be found anyway, and disclosure gives you the chance to tell your own story.

Costs

The Trails check is $30 per applicant. Fingerprinting fees vary depending on the vendor and appointment location. If you’ve lived in other states recently, those states may charge their own processing fees, paid directly to each state at the time of the request. No fee is required when submitting out-of-state materials to Colorado’s Background Investigation Unit itself.

Requirements vary by county. Check with your agency for specifics on how and where to complete each step locally.

What to expect from the home study

You’ve filled out the paperwork, you’ve started your training, and now someone is going to come to your house and evaluate you. But here’s what actually happens: a caseworker visits your home, talks with you, looks around, and writes a report. The goal isn’t to catch you doing something wrong. It’s to understand who you are, what your home is like, and what kinds of children you’re best suited to care for.

Who conducts it and what they’re looking for

The home study is conducted by a caseworker from your county department or a licensed child placement agency, depending on which type of certifying agency you’re working with. According to Colorado’s rules regulating family foster care homes, a foster care home is certified by the county department or a child placement agency, and the home study is a core part of that certification process. Requirements vary by county, so check with your agency for specifics about how the study is structured and scheduled where you live.

The caseworker is looking at a few things at once. Part of it is practical: does your home have enough space? Are there obvious safety concerns? The number of children who can be placed with you is determined partly by what the home study documents, so your physical space matters. The rules specify that the number of additional foster children under six years of age to be cared for must be specified on the certificate and in the home study, which means the caseworker is paying close attention to how your home is laid out, not just whether it’s tidy.

But the larger part of the home study is relational. The caseworker wants to understand your parenting approach, your household dynamics, your support network, and your capacity to meet the needs of children who’ve experienced trauma. If you have other people living in your home, they’ll likely be part of the conversation too.

What the caseworker will ask about

Expect questions about your background, your family history, how you handle stress, how you discipline children, and what kinds of placements you feel prepared for. This isn’t an interrogation. Think of it as a structured conversation where you’re also figuring out together what kind of foster care fits your life. The caseworker isn’t looking for a perfect household. They’re looking for a stable, honest, and prepared one.

The walkthrough

The caseworker will walk through your home. They’re checking that sleeping arrangements are appropriate, that the space meets the physical requirements for the number of children you’d like to care for, and that the environment is safe. You don’t need to renovate anything. You need a home that’s safe and has adequate room for a child.

How long it takes

The home study isn’t a single appointment. It typically involves more than one visit or conversation, and then the caseworker writes a formal report. How long the full process takes depends on your county or agency, your schedule, and how quickly any follow-up items get resolved. Ask your caseworker early on what the expected timeline looks like in your area.

Pre-service training requirements

Colorado requires 12 hours of training before your first placement, and the state has built a free system to help you get there.

The 27-hour first-year requirement

Colorado’s training framework breaks across your first year in two stages. According to the Family Resource Network’s foster parent training guide, state and federal requirements ask new caregivers to complete 27 hours total in their initial year. The split looks like this:

• 12 hours before licensure, which is your pre-service requirement
• 15 additional hours within three months of your first placement, focused on the age and development of the children you’re caring for

Of those 15 post-placement hours, 3 hours of Trauma Informed Parenting training must be completed before any child is placed in your home. If you’re planning to care for infants, Safe Sleep training is also required before placement.

What CORE training actually covers

The pre-licensure piece is built around something called CORE training. The training guide describes it as an introduction to the child welfare system designed to help new foster families become knowledgeable, nurturing, and informed caregivers. The 12 pre-licensure hours include two specific required courses:

• The Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard (1.5 hours): This one matters for your daily life with a child. It helps you think through decisions about normalcy and risk, so you’re not paralyzed every time a kid wants to try something typical kids do.
• Mandated Reporter training (2 hours): As a licensed foster parent, you’ll be a mandated reporter under Colorado law. This training walks you through your obligations and how to make a report.

Both of these are completed online through the Colorado Child Welfare Training System at coloradocwts.com.

How to access training

The Colorado Department of Human Services runs the Child Welfare Training System, which delivers courses specifically for foster parents and kinship caregivers. Most of the required online modules are free and self-paced, which means you can work through them evenings and weekends without taking time off work.

CORE training itself may be offered as a class through your licensing agency. Some agencies provide it at no cost to families working directly with them.

After your first year

Once you’re licensed, the training requirement doesn’t stop. Each subsequent year requires 20 hours of training for standard foster or foster-to-adopt homes. If you eventually pursue a Treatment Foster Home license for children with higher needs, you’ll need an additional 12 hours per year on top of that. CPR and First Aid certification must stay current throughout the entire time you’re licensed.

What your county or agency may add

Requirements vary by county, so check with your agency for specifics. Some licensing agencies add their own required topics or in-person sessions on top of what the state mandates. The Family Resource Network, for example, includes a separate in-person Trauma Informed Parenting class as a requirement before placement for families they license, beyond what the state baseline requires.

License types and renewal in Colorado

If you’ve been researching foster care in Colorado, you’ve probably noticed that the word “license” gets used a little loosely. Colorado actually uses a certification process for most foster homes, not a traditional license, and understanding the difference will help you know exactly what you’re working toward.

Standard foster home certification

The most common path is becoming a certified foster home. According to Colorado’s foster care home regulations, a foster care home is certified either by your county department of human services or by a private child placement agency (CPA). The certification authorizes you to provide 24-hour family care in your home for children who are not related to you, though relative care is also covered under the same framework.

Your certificate will specify exactly how many children you’re approved to care for at one time. The limits depend on your household situation, but the general caps are:

• No more than six foster children in the home at once
• No more than ten children total, counting both foster and non-foster children
• No more than two children under age two

Sibling groups are an exception. If keeping brothers and sisters together means going slightly over a cap, that placement can still happen. No additional foster children can be added to the home in that situation, though.

Foster care can be provided for children from birth through age 18, and up to age 21 for young people placed by court order before their eighteenth birthday.

Receiving home certification

Some families are certified specifically as receiving homes, which means they take emergency and crisis placements rather than long-term placements. These homes can be certified for up to six foster children, but no child can stay at the receiving home rate for more than 90 consecutive days. To become a receiving home, you need at least two years of prior foster parenting experience, though your certifying agency can consider other relevant education and experience as well. Receiving home parents are also held to a higher ongoing training standard: 32 hours every year, covering topics like emergency placements, trauma, and cultural awareness.

Because of the quick turnover in receiving homes, your certifying agency will check in with you more frequently, with at least one face-to-face contact per week when children are placed, and a minimum of two visits per month in the home.

Homes serving children with complex needs

If you’re open to caring for children enrolled in the Children’s Habilitation Residential Program (CHRP), a waiver program for children with significant disabilities, your certification will reflect that. The rules around CHRP placements are specific: you can serve up to six foster children total, with limits on how many are CHRP-enrolled depending on your household, and your certifying agency must determine you have the knowledge and supports to safely meet everyone’s needs.

How renewal works

Your certification isn’t permanent. Receiving homes are specifically required to undergo a comprehensive annual evaluation that includes a review of any critical incidents. While the regulations set the framework, the practical details of your annual renewal, including what your agency reviews and what paperwork you’ll need to update, are handled at the county or agency level. Requirements vary by county, so check with your agency for specifics.

One thing to keep in mind: operating a foster home without a current certification isn’t just a paperwork problem. According to Colorado’s general child care facility rules, providing care without proper certification can result in fines of up to $10,000, and the state can pursue injunctive action to stop the placement. Staying current on your renewal protects both you and the children in your care.

Staying licensed: what’s required after approval

Getting licensed isn’t a one-time event. Your certification has to be renewed, and the agency that certified you will stay in regular contact with your household for as long as you’re caring for children.

Ongoing training hours

If you’re operating as a standard foster home, your certifying agency will identify training goals for you through a training development plan. The bar is higher if you’re certified as a receiving home, which is a home that takes emergency and crisis placements. Colorado’s foster care home regulations require receiving home parents to complete 32 hours of ongoing training every year. That training must cover specific areas:

• Issues around emergency and crisis placement of children with unknown histories
• Dynamics of victimization, with attention to age and developmental levels
• Cultural, spiritual, and religious awareness and sensitivity for each child in care

For standard certified foster homes, your training requirements are identified in your individual training development plan. Requirements vary by county, so check with your agency for specifics.

Regular visits and home assessments

Your certifying agency won’t just check in once a year and call it done. For receiving homes, Colorado’s foster care home regulations require at least one face-to-face contact every week when children are placed in the home, with a minimum of two of those visits happening inside the home each month. For other foster homes, your certifying agency is required to conduct ongoing assessments of each child’s needs during support visits. When the agency identifies a heightened need, they’re required to increase the frequency of that contact.

When your household changes

You can’t simply add a new adult to your household and continue caring for foster children without telling your agency. Any significant change to who lives in your home, or to the condition of your home itself, is something your certifying agency needs to know about promptly. According to Colorado’s general rules for child care facilities, intentionally false statements or reports to the department are treated seriously, with potential fines reaching up to $10,000.

Capacity limits stay in effect

Your certificate specifies exactly how many children you’re approved to care for, and those limits don’t flex. Colorado’s foster care home regulations cap foster placements at no more than six foster children in a home, with a total household limit of ten children combined. No more than two children under age two may be in the home at one time, with a narrow exception for sibling groups from multiple births. These aren’t guidelines. They’re the terms of your certification, and staying within them is part of staying licensed.

Reporting obligations

Colorado’s child welfare system depends on foster parents being mandatory reporters. The Colorado Department of Human Services offers mandatory reporter training online specifically for people working with children in care. If you don’t have it already, get it. If you completed it during your initial licensing process, keep it current.