What Financial Qualifications Do You Need to Meet to Become a Foster Parent?

When you become a foster parent, you get to open your home, life and heart to a child in need of a home. While the state in which you live will provide a stipend to help you care for the child, you also need to meet certain financial qualifications. This ensures that if the stipend is late arriving one month, you are able to meet the child's needs on your own. It also helps weed out potential foster parents that are simply looking to make some money, rather than a real difference in the life of a child.

  1. Basic Qualification

    • Each state sets its own financial qualifications for foster parents. However, you'll find that in general, qualifications are fairly lax. You typically need only to show that you and your spouse or partner make enough money to meet your family's financial needs, including any foster child you decide to welcome into your home. While the stipend you receive for a foster child will help with things such as added groceries and higher utility bills, you may find that it doesn't cover all of the child's needs and you'll need to pay for at least some things, like clothing, out of your own pocket.

    Disqualifying Income

    • Funds from government assistance programs such as Welfare will not be counted as income. Additionally, anticipated money from foster care stipends will not count. The state wants to be sure that with or without a monthly stipend, you're able to take care of everyone in your household, including a child you choose to take in.

    Proving Income

    • You will be asked to fill out a financial statement form. One of the things the form asks about is your household income. You'll also need to provide proof of income in the form of recent pay stubs, tax documents and anything else that shows how much you and your spouse or partner bring in.

    Regular Expenses

    • The financial statement form will also ask about all regular expenses for your household. This includes mortgage or rent payments, utilities, car payments and other debt. The point is to ensure that your income is adequate to meet your financial needs. After all, if you have a good income but too many bills, you may not be in a stable enough financial position to care for a child.

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