District of Columbia · foster care
How to become a foster parent in District of Columbia
The District licenses foster homes through CFSA, its cabinet-level child welfare agency, under the foster home rules in 29 DCMR Chapter 60 — and because many DC foster parents live in the Maryland suburbs, CFSA's contracted partner, the National Center for Children and Families (NCCF), serves DC children placed in Maryland family homes. You'll start with a call to 202-671-LOVE and an information session, submit an application, clear FBI fingerprint checks (plus MPD checks for anyone with a DC history) and Child Protection Register clearances for every adult in the home, finish 30 hours of NG-PRIDE pre-service training with Red Cross or AHA CPR/First Aid, and complete a home study with at least two home visits before CFSA issues a two-year license. CFSA must tell you its decision within 150 days of when you begin training, and several of those steps run at the same time — your community can walk with you through each one.
17 steps, checked against Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA)’s own pages as of 2026-08-23. Read the source.
The process
17 steps, in 9 stages
Steps with no “after” note below don’t wait on each other — the District of Columbia process names only the orderings that are actually real; everything else can run at the same time.
Exploring foster care
Learn how fostering works in DC
Read CFSA's overview of fostering and adopting in the District, then call 202-671-LOVE (5683) to talk with a CFSA social worker about your questions. You can foster if you are single or married, a renter or a homeowner — you just need sufficient financial resources to meet your own family's needs.
Talk with current DC foster parentsOptional
Connect with the Foster and Adoptive Parent Advocacy Center (FAPAC), the support and advocacy organization for DC resource parents. Hearing from families already fostering DC children is the best way to test whether this is right for your household.
DC Foster and Adoptive Parent Advocacy Center - Parent Resources
Learning the requirements
Confirm you meet the basic requirements
Under DC's foster home rules you must be at least 21 years old and have sufficient financial resources to care for a child — you do not need to be wealthy or own a home. If you live in the Maryland suburbs rather than the District, you can still care for DC children through CFSA's contracted Maryland partner, the National Center for Children and Families (NCCF).
Read the DC foster home rulesOptional
Skim 29 DCMR Chapter 60, the regulation every DC foster home is licensed under. It spells out what your home must provide — working smoke detectors on each floor and in each bedroom, a fire extinguisher on every floor, screens on windows that open, a working landline or dedicated mobile phone — and the rights of foster children living with you, so you know the standard before anyone inspects against it.
Informational meeting
Attend a CFSA information session
CFSA holds information sessions for prospective foster parents about twice a month — typically a Saturday morning session and a weekday evening session — where staff explain the children who need homes, the licensing process, and what support you'll receive. Call 202-671-LOVE (5683) to register; a CFSA recruiter follows up with access details for the virtual session.
Choose your licensing agency
Decide whether to work directly with CFSA or with one of the private child-placing agencies that partner with it — CFSA can give you the current list when you call. If you live in Maryland, you'll work with the National Center for Children and Families (NCCF), CFSA's single contracted provider for DC children placed in Maryland family-based foster homes.
National Center for Children and Families - Foster Care and Adoption
Application
Submit your foster parent application
Complete the foster parent application on a form provided or approved by CFSA, along with consent forms authorizing the release of confidential information for your background checks. You'll also tell your licensing worker which ages and needs you feel ready to care for.
After Attend a CFSA information session, Choose your licensing agency
Background checks
Complete MPD and FBI fingerprint checks
Every resident of your home who is 18 or older must clear a criminal records check: an FBI national fingerprint check for everyone, plus a Metropolitan Police Department check for anyone who has lived, worked, or attended school in the District as an adult. A felony conviction for child abuse or neglect, an intrafamily offense, a crime against children, or rape, sexual assault, or homicide is disqualifying, as is a felony for physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense within the past five years.
After Submit your foster parent application
Clear the Child Protection Register
Each adult living in your home — plus your designated back-up caregivers and the adults in their homes — is checked against the District's Child Protection Register and the equivalent register in every state where they lived or worked within the previous five years. Your agency requests these clearances as part of the home study; you supply your address and employment history from age 18.
After Submit your foster parent application
Home study
Gather medical statements for the household
You and every household member 18 or older need a physician's statement showing a complete medical exam within the past 24 months, including tuberculosis screening, with no condition that would keep you from fostering. Household members under 18 who are not foster children need documentation of an exam consistent with the EPSDT schedule, with up-to-date immunizations and TB screening, plus a blood lead screening for any child under 6.
After Submit your foster parent application
Provide three personal references
CFSA's licensing packet asks for three personal references who can speak to your character and your readiness to care for a child. Choose people who know your household well and will respond promptly — slow references are a common source of delay.
After Submit your foster parent application
Complete the home study
Your licensing worker studies and assesses your household's readiness through at least two home visits, one of which may be unannounced. The home study is a conversation as much as an evaluation — it covers your history, parenting approach, household relationships, and the kinds of placements that would fit your family.
After Submit your foster parent application
Pass the home safety inspection
Your home must meet the physical standards in 29 DCMR Chapter 60: working smoke detectors on each floor and in each bedroom, a wall-mounted dry-chemical fire extinguisher on every floor, screens on all windows that open, adequate heat, and a working landline or dedicated mobile phone. Your licensing worker checks these during the home study visits, and staying at this standard is a condition of keeping your license.
After Submit your foster parent application
Training
Complete 30 hours of NG-PRIDE pre-service training
CFSA requires 30 hours of pre-service training using the New Generation PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education) curriculum, delivered by its Child Welfare Training Academy as a hybrid of four three-hour online sessions and six instructor-led sessions over about five weeks. Once you begin training, CFSA has 150 days to tell you in writing whether it will recommend approving you as a foster parent.
After Submit your foster parent application
Takes about About 30 hours over five weeks
CFSA - Multi-Tiered Approach to Resource Parent Learning and Development
Get certified in CPR and First Aid
All applicants must hold current Infant, Child and Adult CPR/First Aid certification, and only American Red Cross or American Heart Association certification is accepted. You can take the class through CFSA at no cost as part of your pre-service training.
After Submit your foster parent application
Cost: Free when taken through CFSA
CFSA Resource Parent Handbook - Pre-Service Training and Licensing
Licensing / approval
Receive your DC foster home license
Once your checks, medicals, references, home study, inspection and training are complete, CFSA issues your foster home license, valid for two years; the agency must notify you in writing of its decision within 150 days of when you began pre-service training. Renewal requires documented in-service training (30 hours during the license period), fresh criminal and Child Protection Register checks, updated medical documentation, and a clean hands certification signed within 90 days of expiration.
After Get certified in CPR and First Aid, Gather medical statements for the household, Complete the home study, Complete MPD and FBI fingerprint checks, Pass the home safety inspection, Provide three personal references, Complete 30 hours of NG-PRIDE pre-service training, Clear the Child Protection Register
Takes about Decision due within 150 days of beginning training
First placement readiness
Prepare your home for your first placement
Set up the child's sleeping space — each foster child needs their own bed, and no more than three children may share a room without CFSA's specific consent — and keep your home at the licensed standard: sanitary, heated to about 70 degrees in winter, with a first aid kit always on hand. Start logging your in-service training hours now (30 are due before renewal), and lean on your community and FAPAC when the first call comes.
After Receive your DC foster home license
CFSA - Basic Requirements to Maintain Your Foster Home License
You don’t have to do this alone
aVillage is how a church wraps practical care around a family going through this exact process — meals, rides, respite, and a team that actually shows up.
Common questions
Is this the official District of Columbia process?
This is a plain-language summary, not the regulation itself. Every step above links to Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA)’s own page or the binding rule — read those for the authoritative version, and confirm anything time-sensitive directly with your agency.
Does aVillage run background checks or issue licenses?
No. Your state agency (or the private agency it works with) does the licensing and the checks. aVillage tracks your own progress through the process and helps your church support you along the way.