How to Become a Foster Parent in Kansas

Right now, somewhere in Kansas, a child has been removed from their home and needs a safe place to stay tonight. The Kansas Department for Children and Families oversees a system designed to make sure that place exists, and it relies on licensed families to provide it. According to Kansas’s foster care licensing regulations, a child in foster care can be anyone from an infant up to age 21, placed by court order or privately, in a home that the state has reviewed and approved.

Getting licensed takes time and paperwork, but it’s a defined process with clear steps. What follows walks you through each of those steps so you know what’s coming.

Who can be a foster parent in Kansas?

The list of people who qualify to foster in Kansas is probably longer than you think. You don’t have to be married. You don’t have to own a home. You don’t have to be wealthy. What the state is looking for is a stable, caring adult who can meet a child’s basic needs and hold up under the honest scrutiny of a licensing process.

Age

You need to be at least 21 years old. That’s the floor, and there’s no ceiling. According to the Kansas foster home self-evaluation form, every licensee must meet that minimum age requirement before a license can be issued.

Marital status and household composition

Kansas doesn’t require you to be married. Single adults can and do get licensed. Married couples apply together, but a single person living alone or with family members can absolutely qualify. What matters is the makeup of your household, not whether there’s a spouse in it.

Income

You don’t need to be comfortable or affluent. You do need to be financially stable enough to cover your own household’s needs without depending on foster care payments to do it. The foster home self-evaluation form puts it plainly: licensees must have sufficient income or resources to provide for the basic needs and financial obligations of the foster family and to maintain compliance with all applicable regulations. Foster care payments are meant to help cover the costs of the child in your care, not to supplement your household budget.

Physical and mental health

You’ll need to show that your health, physical and emotional, doesn’t prevent you from caring for a child. The self-evaluation form references a health assessment as a required document, and each licensee must provide documentation of a negative TB test or chest X-ray. Beyond the physical piece, licensing specialists are also assessing whether caregivers have the temperament, emotional maturity, and judgment to keep children safe and supported.

How many children can be in your home

Your home can have a maximum of six children total, counting both foster children and your own biological or adopted children under 16. No more than two of those children can be under 18 months of age at the same time. These limits are built into the licensing regulations and apply regardless of how large your home is. As noted in KVC Kansas’s summary of DCF regulation changes, the updated rules that took effect June 7, 2024 apply statewide and are not agency-specific.

What the assessment actually looks at

Before you’re licensed, a licensing specialist will conduct a family assessment that includes at least one individual interview with each household member who is at least seven years old, and at least one in-home visit. According to the foster home self-evaluation form, this assessment happens at initial application and again at each renewal.

Requirements vary by county. Check with your agency for specifics on how the assessment process is structured in your area.

Background check requirements in Kansas

Who has to complete checks

The checks don’t apply only to you. According to Kansas’s foster care licensing regulations, background checks are required under K.A.R. 30-47-805 for household members across different age thresholds:

• Everyone in the home age 10 and older must clear a KBI criminal history check and a Child Abuse/Neglect Central Registry check.
• Everyone age 18 and older must also submit fingerprints for a national criminal history check through the FBI.

That means your teenager and any adult relatives living with you are part of this process.

What types of checks are run

There are three distinct checks involved. The DCF policy on kinship home placements describes a complete DCF History check as covering the Web KDHE Request Processor (WKRP), the Family and Children Tracking System (FACTS), the Kansas Intake/Investigation Protections Systems (KIPS), and the Kansas Initiative for Decision Support (KIDS). In plain terms, these systems check whether anyone in your home has prior involvement with Kansas child welfare, not just whether they’ve been convicted of a crime.

The three checks, taken together, are:

• A KBI criminal history background check
• A Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry check
• A fingerprint-based national criminal history check (FBI)

How often checks are renewed

The Child Abuse/Neglect Central Registry check is renewed annually, which means it’s part of your ongoing license maintenance, not a one-time hurdle. The DCF policy on assessing adoptive families notes that if a national criminal history fingerprint check has already been completed on a foster parent who has been continuously licensed, a second check doesn’t need to be done. It also notes that if fingerprints are sent to the FBI twice and still aren’t legible, a name check is acceptable as a substitute.

What can disqualify an applicant

Certain criminal convictions will prevent licensure. Kansas statute K.S.A. 65-516, included in the Kansas child care licensing laws, sets out restrictions on persons maintaining or residing, working, or volunteering at a child care facility based on criminal history. A substantiated finding on the Child Abuse/Neglect Central Registry can also be disqualifying. If you have something in your past you’re uncertain about, raise it with your licensing worker early.

A note on the declaration form

Before the full fingerprint results come back, household members age 10 and older are asked to sign a Declaration of No Criminal Offenses. As DCF’s kinship placement policy explains, signing this form acknowledges that the criminal history check being run will not reveal any conviction that would prohibit licensure.

Requirements vary by county. Check with your agency for specifics on timing, fingerprinting locations, and any fees associated with processing.

What to expect from the home study

The home study is the process by which a licensing specialist gets to know you, your household, and your home well enough to say: yes, this is a place where a child can be safe and cared for.

Who conducts it and what the visit looks like

Your licensing specialist, working through your sponsoring child-placing agency, will conduct the assessment. According to Kansas’s foster home self-evaluation form, the family assessment must include at least one individual interview with each household member who is at least seven years old, and at least one visit in the family foster home. That means everyone in the house gets a chance to talk, including kids.

The visit will include a walk-through of your home. The specialist is checking that the physical space meets basic safety and habitability standards spelled out in Kansas’s foster home licensing regulations, things like sleeping arrangements, environmental safety, and medication storage.

What the caseworker is actually looking for

Kansas’s self-evaluation form describes what caregivers need to demonstrate: temperament, emotional maturity, good judgment, and an understanding of children sufficient to maintain the health, comfort, safety, and welfare of kids in foster care. The specialist also wants to confirm that you have enough income or resources to meet your family’s basic needs alongside any foster children placed with you.

The renewal assessment

The home study isn’t a one-time event. Each time you renew your license, you’ll go through another family assessment. The same requirements apply: individual interviews, a home visit, and the same review of your household.

Timelines can vary depending on your agency and how quickly all the pieces come together, including background checks and training completions.

Pre-service training requirements

Before a child ever sets foot in your home, you’ll need to complete a set of required training. It has to be finished before your license is issued.

What the state requires before licensing

Kansas’s foster home self-evaluation form spells out exactly what every applicant must complete before a license can be issued:

• A face-to-face, instructor-led family foster home preparatory program approved by the department
• A face-to-face, instructor-led first aid training course that lasts at least three clock hours
• Universal precautions training
• Medication administration training

These aren’t online modules you can click through at midnight. The preparatory program and first aid course both have to be instructor-led and in person. As of the June 2024 regulation updates, the first aid course also requires a post-skills test. KVC Kansas’s summary of the 2024 regulation changes confirms that CPR training carries the same requirement. These changes apply statewide and aren’t agency-specific.

The preparatory program

The family foster home preparatory program is the centerpiece of your pre-service training. Kansas’s foster home licensing regulations require that it be approved by the Department for Children and Families, which means your sponsoring child-placing agency will arrange it or point you to an approved provider.

The goal of the preparatory program is to develop competency across a range of topics. According to the 2024 regulation update summary, the in-service training framework, which builds on pre-service foundations, covers areas including:

• Child development
• Attachment issues and disorders
• Trauma and its effects
• Advocacy
• Crisis management, including de-escalation techniques
• Cultural awareness and identity

What your agency may add

The state sets the floor, but your sponsoring child-placing agency can require more. Requirements vary by county and agency, so check with your agency for specifics. KVC Kansas, for example, publishes its own foster parent policy and procedure manual with policies that reflect their specific requirements, which may go beyond what DCF mandates.

After you’re licensed

Once you have your license, the training doesn’t stop. DCF’s family foster home level descriptions confirm that licensed foster parents at the basic level are required to complete at least eight hours of training annually. At least two of those hours must involve direct instruction between an instructor and participant, not self-paced online work. Homes serving children with more complex needs may be required to complete additional hours beyond that minimum.

License types and renewal in Kansas

General family foster home license

The standard foster care license in Kansas is the family foster home license. According to Kansas’s foster care licensing regulations, this license allows you to care for children who have been placed in foster care by the state or through a private child-placing agency. It covers children under 16 in state custody, privately placed children under 16, and young people between 16 and 21 who are in the custody of the secretary and placed in a licensed home.

One practical limit to keep in mind: your home cannot exceed six children total, counting your own children under 16, and no more than two of those children can be under 18 months of age.

Relative and non-related kinship license

If a child in foster care is related to you, or has a close existing bond with your family, there’s a separate licensing pathway. Kansas has an abridged licensing process for relatives and non-related kin, governed by the same core regulations but with some differences in what’s required. The abridged kinship licensing regulations cover this pathway. DCF defines a relative broadly, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, and people related through marriage or previous marriage.

Temporary permits

Before your full license is issued, you may receive a temporary permit. This matters if there’s a child who needs placement now, before your application is fully processed. Under Kansas law, a temporary permit allows you to operate as a foster home while the full licensing review is still underway. The Kansas child care licensing laws treat temporary permit holders as applicants, meaning you’re in the system and operating legally, but your full license hasn’t been finalized yet.

Annual renewal

Your license doesn’t last forever, and that’s by design. Renewal is how the state confirms that your home still meets requirements and that your family is still a good fit for the children placed with you. Each renewal includes a new family assessment, which must involve at least one individual interview with each household member who is at least seven years of age, along with at least one visit in your home. The family foster home self-evaluation form reflects what licensing specialists are checking during this process.

Renewal also means staying current on any training requirements and maintaining your sponsorship with a child-placing agency.

Staying licensed: what’s required after approval

Getting licensed isn’t a one-time event. Your license needs to be actively maintained, and Kansas has specific requirements that keep you accountable to the children in your care.

Continuing education

Every year you’re licensed, you’re expected to keep learning. Kansas foster home level descriptions state that at least eight hours of training are required annually per foster parent at the Basic 1 level. If children with more complex needs are placed in your home at a higher care level, your sponsoring agency may require additional hours beyond that minimum.

Annual reevaluations

Your license doesn’t renew automatically. Kansas’s foster care licensing regulations establish a renewal process that includes an evaluation of your home and your household. Your licensing worker will review whether your home still meets the physical and safety standards it met when you were first approved, and whether anything in your household has changed since then.

Home inspections

Your home will be inspected as part of the renewal process. Kansas’s licensing regulations cover ongoing environmental requirements, including sleeping arrangements, general safety conditions, and other physical standards your home must continue to meet.

Reporting obligations

Some of what happens in a foster home has to be reported, and the regulations are specific about what qualifies. Kansas’s administrative regulations require foster parents to report infectious or contagious disease, positive tuberculin tests, critical incidents, and any suspected abuse or neglect. Your licensing worker and agency can walk you through what rises to the level of a reportable incident and who to contact when it does.

Household change notifications

Your license was issued based on a specific household at a specific address. If that changes, your agency needs to know. Kansas’s licensing regulations address amendments to licenses, which covers changes like new household members, a move to a different home, or other significant shifts in your living situation. A new adult moving in, for example, will typically trigger a new background check for that person.