How to Become a Foster Parent in Arkansas

Description

Foster care in Arkansas provides temporary, family-based care for children who cannot safely remain with their parents or current caregivers. Reunification is generally the primary goal when it can be achieved safely. Resource parents provide stability, supervision, nurturing, and daily care while working with the child's parents, relatives, Arkansas DCFS, courts, schools, healthcare providers, attorneys, service providers, and other members of the child's team. They are expected to support family contact, sibling relationships, education, healthcare, cultural and religious identity, normal childhood activities, and the child's case and permanency plans.

Agency

The Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Children and Family Services, commonly called DCFS, administers the state's public foster-care, child-protection, reunification, and adoption programs. DCFS approves and supervises public resource homes. Arkansas also works with licensed private child-placement agencies that may recruit, train, approve, and support foster families for particular programs or populations. Every Child Arkansas serves as a statewide entry and connection point for prospective foster parents.

Who Can Apply

Arkansas residents who are at least 21 years old may apply. Applicants may be single or married and may rent or own their home. They must demonstrate stable income, suitable character, emotional maturity, safe parenting practices, adequate physical and mental health, reliable transportation, sufficient household support, and the ability to provide a safe and nurturing environment for children who may have experienced abuse, neglect, trauma, grief, separation, and instability.

Average Time To License

No single statewide completion period is guaranteed. Approval depends on the applicant's response time, training schedule, agency workload, completion of the application and SAFE home study, references, criminal and child-maltreatment checks, medical and financial records, CPR and First Aid certification, household interviews, home visits, and compliance with Minimum Licensing Standards and DCFS policy.

Website

Visit the official agency website

Minimum Age

A foster-parent applicant must be at least 21 years old. For applicants pursuing adoption, Arkansas generally prefers that the age difference between the applicant and child be no more than 45 years, although the child's needs and circumstances are considered.

Residency

Applicants seeking approval through Arkansas DCFS must be residents of Arkansas. The home must be located where it can be assessed, inspected, approved, and supervised by DCFS or the responsible licensed agency. Applicants who recently lived in another state may need child-maltreatment and criminal-history clearances from previous jurisdictions.

Marital Status

Applicants may be single or married. When a married couple applies, both spouses participate in the application, training, background checks, interviews, home study, and approval process. The agency evaluates relationship stability, household functioning, and each adult's willingness and ability to participate in foster care. Other adults living in the home are also assessed and must complete applicable background requirements.

Income Requirements

Applicants must have sufficient, stable income and resources to meet their household's existing expenses without relying on foster-care board payments. The agency reviews income, employment, expenses, debts, benefits, and financial stability. Foster-care reimbursement is intended to help cover the needs of a child placed by the agency and is not intended to serve as the family's primary income.

Home Ownership

Home ownership is not required. Applicants may live in a house, apartment, mobile home, rental property, or other suitable residence as long as it meets Arkansas Minimum Licensing Standards and provides adequate space, utilities, sanitation, sleeping arrangements, privacy, and safety. Renters should make sure their lease and landlord permit the intended household arrangement.

Bedroom Requirements

Each bedroom used by children should provide at least 50 square feet of usable space per occupant. Children of opposite sexes generally must have separate bedrooms when either child is age 4 or older, except in limited circumstances such as a mother in foster care sharing appropriate space with her own child. Each child must have an appropriate bed, bedding, privacy, and space for clothing and personal belongings. Proposed room-sharing arrangements are reviewed during the home study and safety assessment.

Transportation

The family must have dependable transportation or another reliable plan for taking children to school, family visits, medical and dental appointments, counseling, court hearings, childcare, activities, and emergencies. Vehicles used to transport foster children must be safely maintained, properly registered and insured, operated by licensed drivers, and equipped with age-appropriate seat belts, car seats, and booster seats.

Health Requirements

Applicants must be physically, mentally, and emotionally capable of safely caring for children. The agency may require medical examinations, health statements, and information about physical conditions, medications, mental-health treatment, disabilities, alcohol or substance use, and other circumstances that could affect caregiving. A health condition does not necessarily prevent approval if the applicant can safely and consistently meet children's needs.

Pet Policy

Pets, livestock, and other animals are permitted when they do not create a health or safety risk. Water hazards, dangerous animals, animal aggression, vaccination status, sanitation, confinement, and supervision are evaluated during the home study. DCFS may require safeguards, restricted access, veterinary documentation, or another safety plan when an animal could present a risk to children.

Firearm Policy

Firearms must be kept in a secure, locked location and stored separately from ammunition. Weapons, ammunition, keys, combinations, and access devices must remain inaccessible to children. The home-study worker evaluates the family's storage arrangement and may require additional safety measures based on the ages, behaviors, and needs of children who may be placed in the home.

Contact Agency

Complete the Connect Form through Every Child Arkansas to begin the foster-parent pre-application process. A Foster Parent Guide generally contacts the prospective applicant by email, telephone, or text to answer questions, conduct preliminary screening, and connect the family with Arkansas DCFS or an appropriate licensed private foster-care agency. Applicants may also call the statewide foster and adoption information line at 1-888-736-2820.

Attend Orientation

Participate in the information and orientation process offered through Every Child Arkansas, DCFS, or the assigned private agency. This phase explains the purpose of foster care, reunification, children currently needing homes, resource-parent responsibilities, eligibility, training, background checks, home-study requirements, available support, and how fostering may affect the applicant's household.

Choose Agency

After the initial connection process, applicants may be referred to Arkansas DCFS or to a licensed private child-placement agency based on location, family preferences, placement type, and the children or programs served. The assigned agency guides the applicant through the official application, training, background checks, SAFE home study, approval, placement, and ongoing support.

Documents Needed

• Completed foster or resource-home application from DCFS or the assigned private agency
• Government-issued identification for each applicant
• Proof of Arkansas residency
• Information about every adult and child living in or regularly staying in the household
• Residential-address history requested for background checks
• Authorization for Arkansas Child Maltreatment Central Registry checks
• Authorization for Arkansas State Police and FBI criminal-history checks
• Fingerprint submissions for applicants and other covered household members
• Out-of-state criminal and child-maltreatment clearances when applicable
• Medical statements or physical-examination forms for applicants and other household members when required
• Financial information showing stable income and the ability to meet existing household expenses
• Employment information and work schedules
• Names and contact information for personal references
• Marriage, divorce, separation, or relationship-history information when applicable
• Information about biological, adopted, step, foster, and other children in the family
• Driver's-license information for household members who may transport children
• Vehicle-registration and automobile-insurance documentation
• Homeowners or renters insurance information when requested
• Lease information or landlord permission when applicable
• Childcare, supervision, transportation, and backup-care plans
• Emergency, fire, evacuation, and disaster plans
• Pet vaccination records or animal-safety information when applicable
• Information about firearms, ammunition, pools, ponds, wells, trampolines, and other potential hazards
• Information about prior foster-care, adoption, childcare, or caregiving licenses and applications
• Explanations and supporting records related to criminal history, child-maltreatment history, domestic violence, substance use, or prior licensing actions when applicable
• CPR and Standard First Aid certification records before final approval
• Any additional evaluations, safety plans, photographs, or records requested during the home study

Required

Yes

Description

Arkansas begins with a pre-application and information phase designed to help prospective resource parents understand the realities of foster care before beginning the formal approval process. Applicants learn that foster care is temporary, reunification is generally the primary goal, and resource parents must work cooperatively with children's parents, relatives, DCFS, and service teams. The orientation process also reviews eligibility, trauma-informed parenting, household readiness, training, background checks, the SAFE home study, licensing standards, placement decisions, and available support.

How To Register

Submit the Every Child Arkansas Connect Form and indicate whether you are ready to begin certification or are still exploring. A Foster Parent Guide will contact you and connect you with the appropriate DCFS representative or licensed private agency. Applicants may also call 1-888-736-2820 for foster and adoption information or contact their local Arkansas DHS county office.

Duration

The initial pre-application conversation and orientation schedule vary by agency and region. Orientation is separate from Arkansas's required 30 hours of preservice foster-parent training. After orientation and agency assignment, applicants begin the formal application, training, background-check, and home-study process.

Application Process

After orientation and referral to Arkansas DCFS or a licensed private child-placement agency, applicants complete the agency's formal resource-home application. The process includes document collection, criminal and child-maltreatment checks, fingerprinting, medical and financial information, references, preservice training, CPR and Standard First Aid certification, household interviews, a SAFE home study, home visits, and review of the residence under Arkansas Minimum Licensing Standards. The assigned worker may request additional records, interviews, evaluations, or safety plans before recommending approval.

Required Documents

• Completed foster or resource-home application
• Government-issued identification for each applicant
• Proof of Arkansas residency
• Information about every adult and child living in or regularly staying in the household
• Residential-address history requested for background checks
• Authorization for Arkansas Child Maltreatment Central Registry checks
• Authorization for Arkansas State Police criminal-history checks
• Authorization and fingerprints for FBI criminal-history checks
• Out-of-state child-maltreatment and criminal-history clearances when required
• Medical statements or physical-examination forms for foster-parent applicants
• Health information for other household members when requested
• Financial information showing adequate household income and resources
• Employment information and work schedules
• Names and contact information for required personal references
• Marriage, divorce, separation, or relationship-history information when applicable
• Information about biological, adopted, step, foster, and other children in the family
• Driver's-license information for household members who may transport children
• Vehicle-registration and automobile-insurance documentation
• Homeowners or renters insurance information when requested
• Lease information or landlord permission when applicable
• Childcare, supervision, transportation, and backup-care plans
• Emergency, fire, evacuation, and disaster plans
• CPR and Standard First Aid certification records
• Pet vaccination records or animal-safety documentation when applicable
• Information about firearms, ammunition, pools, ponds, wells, trampolines, and other hazards
• Information about previous foster-care, adoption, childcare, residential-care, or other caregiving licenses and applications
• Explanations and supporting records concerning criminal history, child-maltreatment history, domestic violence, substance use, or prior licensing actions when applicable
• Any additional evaluations, safety plans, photographs, inspection records, or supporting documents requested during the SAFE home study

References Required

Applicants provide personal references who can discuss their character, reliability, emotional stability, family relationships, parenting or caregiving ability, judgment, financial responsibility, and suitability to care for children. The assigned agency determines the exact number and form of references required under current policy and may contact references by telephone, in writing, or through an interview. Additional references may be requested when the agency needs more information.

Interview Process

The resource worker conducts interviews with each applicant, the applicants together when applicable, and other household members as appropriate. Interviews explore motivation to foster, family relationships, parenting experience, discipline, trauma awareness, health, finances, employment, support systems, cultural responsiveness, placement preferences, transportation, childcare, and willingness to support reunification and work with children's parents, relatives, DCFS, courts, schools, and service providers. The worker may also interview adult children, former partners, relatives, references, backup caregivers, or other people with relevant knowledge of the family.

Required

Yes

Curriculum

Arkansas requires a 30-hour preservice training program for prospective foster and adoptive parents. Training prepares applicants to understand the child-welfare system, the role of resource parents, reunification, permanency, trauma, abuse, neglect, grief, loss, attachment, separation, child development, behavior as communication, discipline restrictions, cultural identity, sibling and family relationships, teamwork with parents and professionals, confidentiality, mandatory reporting, normalcy, reasonable and prudent parenting, placement transitions, caregiver self-care, and the supports available to foster families.

Required Hours

Applicants must complete 30 hours of approved preservice training before final approval. After approval, resource parents must complete continuing education according to current DCFS policy and the needs of children placed in the home. Additional training may be required for specialized, therapeutic, medically complex, or other higher-needs placements.

Online Available

Training delivery varies by DCFS area and private agency. Portions of preservice or continuing education may be offered virtually or online, while other portions may require live participation, discussion, skills practice, or in-person attendance. Applicants should follow the schedule and registration instructions provided by their assigned agency.

Certification

Applicants must complete and maintain current CPR and Standard First Aid certification before approval. The course must meet the standards accepted by DCFS or the licensing agency and should include an appropriate skills-demonstration component. Additional certification may be required for infant care, medically fragile placements, medication administration, water safety, therapeutic care, or other specialized services.

Required

Yes

Interviews

Arkansas uses a formal home-study process to determine whether a family is ready, willing, and able to become a resource family. The assessment includes interviews with applicants and appropriate household members and evaluates character, judgment, relationships, parenting experience, emotional stability, trauma awareness, discipline practices, health, finances, employment, support systems, cultural responsiveness, transportation, childcare, and the ability to cooperate with the child's family and professional team.

Home Visits

The assigned worker conducts one or more visits to the residence during the SAFE home study. The worker meets household members, observes family interactions and routines, evaluates proposed sleeping arrangements, and reviews the home for compliance with Arkansas Minimum Licensing Standards. Follow-up visits may be required to verify repairs, obtain missing information, review a safety plan, or confirm that identified deficiencies have been corrected.

Topics Covered

• The applicants' reasons for becoming foster or adoptive parents
• Understanding that foster care is temporary and reunification is generally the first permanency goal
• Willingness to support the child's case plan and permanency plan
• Ability to support visits and relationships with parents, siblings, relatives, and other important people
• Ability to work with DCFS, private agencies, courts, attorneys, schools, healthcare providers, and service teams
• Family relationships and household stability
• Marital, partner, or co-parenting relationships when applicable
• The effect fostering may have on biological, adopted, step, and other children in the home
• Parenting and caregiving experience
• Knowledge of child and adolescent development
• Understanding of trauma, abuse, neglect, grief, loss, attachment, and separation
• Discipline beliefs and willingness to follow prohibited-discipline rules
• Ability to interpret behavior as communication of underlying needs
• Physical health and ability to provide daily care
• Mental and emotional health
• Medication use when relevant to caregiving
• Alcohol, marijuana, and other substance use
• Domestic violence and other household-safety concerns
• Criminal-history and child-maltreatment information
• Prior foster-care, adoption, childcare, or caregiving experience
• Financial stability and household budgeting
• Employment schedules
• Childcare and backup-care arrangements
• Transportation and vehicle safety
• Family, community, faith, and professional support systems
• Emergency, fire, evacuation, and disaster planning
• Cultural, racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, disability, sexual-orientation, and gender-identity awareness
• Confidentiality and protection of children's personal information
• Pets, livestock, firearms, pools, ponds, wells, trampolines, smoking, vaping, and environmental risks
• Bedroom arrangements, beds, privacy, personal storage, and proposed household capacity
• Preferred ages, sibling groups, behaviors, medical needs, and levels of care
• The family's strengths, limitations, training needs, and support needs
• Willingness to comply with monitoring, annual reviews, continuing education, and agency policy

Timeline

Arkansas does not publish one guaranteed statewide home-study timeline. Completion depends on training schedules, applicant availability, references, background checks, medical and financial records, household interviews, home visits, and correction of any safety or licensing concerns. The home study is not complete until the assigned agency has enough information to determine that the applicants and residence are suitable for children who may be placed there.

Bedroom Rules

Bedrooms used by foster children must provide at least 50 square feet of usable floor space for each occupant. Each child must have an individual bed, suitable bedding, reasonable privacy, and space for clothing and personal possessions. Children of opposite sexes generally must sleep in separate bedrooms when either child is age 4 or older, except for specific circumstances permitted by policy. Foster children may not routinely sleep in dining rooms, kitchens, hallways, unfinished rooms, or other spaces not approved as bedrooms.

Smoke Detectors

The home must have operational smoke detectors positioned according to Arkansas Minimum Licensing Standards and applicable fire-safety requirements. Detectors must be maintained in working order and located so sleeping areas and each level of the residence receive appropriate warning. Carbon-monoxide detection may also be required when the home contains fuel-burning appliances, an attached garage, or another qualifying source.

Fire Extinguisher

The residence must have an operational fire extinguisher of the type, size, and placement required by current licensing standards. It must be accessible to adults and maintained according to the manufacturer's instructions. The family must also maintain unobstructed exits and an emergency evacuation plan that accounts for the ages, abilities, and needs of children in the home.

Medications

Prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, controlled substances, and other potentially harmful medical products must be stored securely and kept inaccessible to children according to their ages, development, behavior, and individual risks. Medications must remain properly labeled and must be administered and documented according to the child's medical directions and DCFS policy.

Cleaning Supplies

Cleaning products, pesticides, fuels, solvents, pool chemicals, alcoholic beverages, poisonous materials, and other hazardous substances must be stored so children cannot access them. Highly dangerous products may require locked storage. Hazardous substances should remain in their original or properly labeled containers and may not be stored in food or beverage containers.

Firearms

Firearms and other weapons must be stored in a secure, locked location and remain inaccessible to children. Ammunition must be stored separately from firearms in locked storage. Keys, combinations, and access devices must remain under the control of an appropriate adult. The worker reviews the storage arrangement during the home study and may require additional precautions based on the children placed in the home.

Pools

Swimming pools, hot tubs, ponds, creeks, wells, and other water hazards must be evaluated during the home study. Depending on the hazard and the ages or abilities of children in the home, DCFS or the licensing agency may require fencing, locked access, alarms, covers, lifesaving equipment, direct supervision, swimming restrictions, or a written water-safety plan.

Pets

Animals must not create a health or safety hazard. The agency may evaluate vaccination records, licensing, temperament, bite or aggression history, sanitation, confinement, livestock areas, and supervision of children's interactions with animals. Dangerous animals may require restricted access, a written safety plan, or removal from areas used by foster children.

Vehicle Requirements

Vehicles used to transport foster children must be safely maintained, properly registered and insured, and operated by drivers with valid licenses. Children must use seat belts, car seats, booster seats, helmets, and other restraints required by Arkansas law and appropriate to their age, size, and activity. The family must maintain dependable transportation for visits, school, healthcare, counseling, court, childcare, activities, and emergencies.

Fingerprinting

Foster-parent applicants and other covered adult household members must complete fingerprint-based criminal-history checks. Arkansas DCFS reviews Arkansas State Police and FBI criminal-history information as part of the resource-home approval process. New fingerprints or updated checks may be required when a household member is added, a prior clearance expires, or DCFS policy otherwise requires an update.

Child Abuse Registry

Applicants and covered household members must complete Arkansas Child Maltreatment Central Registry checks. DCFS may also request child-abuse or neglect registry checks from other states or jurisdictions where an applicant or household member previously lived. Prior reports, investigations, and findings are evaluated for their relevance to child safety and caregiver suitability.

Criminal History

Applicants must disclose arrests, charges, convictions, probation, incarceration, and other criminal-history information requested by DCFS or the approving agency. Criminal records are reviewed together with fingerprint results, child-maltreatment history, licensing history, references, interviews, and the complete home study.

Disqualifying Offenses

Certain convictions and child-maltreatment findings prohibit approval under federal law, Arkansas law, Minimum Licensing Standards, or DCFS policy. Other criminal or maltreatment history may require an individualized review, additional documentation, evidence of rehabilitation, an alternative-compliance determination, or another approval process permitted by law. Approval is never automatic when a barrier condition exists.

Additional Checks

DCFS or the approving agency may review prior foster-care, adoption, childcare, residential-care, healthcare, or other caregiving licenses and applications; prior licensing denials, suspensions, revocations, or corrective actions; court and protective-order records; driving history when relevant; references; prior DCFS involvement; and any additional information necessary to evaluate the safety and suitability of the household.

Steps

• Submit the Every Child Arkansas Connect Form or contact Arkansas DCFS.
• Complete the initial information and orientation process.
• Be connected with DCFS or an appropriate licensed private agency.
• Complete the agency's intake and preliminary screening.
• Submit the resource-home application and supporting documents.
• Complete Arkansas Child Maltreatment Central Registry checks.
• Complete Arkansas State Police and FBI fingerprint-based criminal-history checks.
• Provide medical, financial, employment, vehicle, and household documentation.
• Provide the required personal references.
• Complete 30 hours of approved preservice training.
• Complete CPR and Standard First Aid certification.
• Participate in household interviews and the SAFE home study.
• Complete all required home visits and safety reviews.
• Correct any deficiencies or hazards identified during the assessment.
• Receive final resource-home approval from DCFS or the responsible licensed agency.
• Work with the agency to establish the home's approved capacity, age range, and placement preferences.
• Complete ongoing training, monitoring, and annual-review requirements after approval.

Average Timeline

Arkansas does not publish a guaranteed statewide approval timeline. The process generally takes several months and depends on training availability, applicant responsiveness, fingerprint and registry processing, references, medical and financial records, interviews, the SAFE home study, home-safety corrections, and the workload of the assigned DCFS area or private agency.

Renewal Requirements

Approved resource homes are subject to continuing monitoring and periodic reassessment under DCFS policy and Arkansas Minimum Licensing Standards. The agency reviews changes in household composition, health, finances, employment, vehicles, pets, weapons, residence, criminal or maltreatment history, and the family's ongoing ability to care for children. Updated inspections, background checks, documents, or corrective actions may be required.

Ongoing Training

Resource parents must complete continuing education after approval according to current DCFS policy and the family's approved placement responsibilities. Additional training may be assigned based on the ages and needs of children placed in the home, identified caregiver needs, policy changes, medication responsibilities, therapeutic services, water safety, or another specialized area.

How Placements Work

After approval, placement staff consider the child's age, safety, medical and behavioral needs, sibling relationships, family and community connections, school stability, geographic location, cultural identity, permanency goal, and required services. They also consider the resource home's approved capacity, preferred age range, training, household composition, location, experience, strengths, and stated limitations.

Can Decline Placements

Yes. Resource parents may accept or decline an individual placement request. Families should ask about the child's known medical needs, behaviors, medications, school, family visits, siblings, transportation, safety concerns, services, and placement history before deciding. Families should accept only placements they believe they can safely and appropriately support.

Emergency Placements

Arkansas may need immediate placements when children cannot safely remain in their current homes. Emergency requests may occur outside normal business hours and may initially include limited information. Resource parents should obtain as much information as possible and promptly coordinate with the child's caseworker concerning medical care, medications, clothing, school, family contact, supervision, and immediate safety needs.

Sibling Groups

Arkansas seeks to preserve sibling relationships and place siblings together whenever it is safe and appropriate. Resource homes approved for sibling groups may be asked to accept multiple children when the home has adequate capacity, sleeping space, transportation, and caregiving resources. When siblings cannot live together, the child's team should support appropriate contact and visitation.

Age Preferences

Applicants identify the ages, number of children, sibling-group size, placement types, behaviors, developmental needs, medical needs, and levels of care they believe they can safely support. These preferences and limitations become part of the SAFE home study and approval record and may be updated as the family's experience, training, household circumstances, or capacity changes.

Monthly Board Rate

Arkansas provides foster-care maintenance payments to help cover the reasonable and necessary costs of caring for an eligible child placed in an approved resource home. Payments may vary according to the child's age, placement type, approved level of care, and qualifying special needs. Families should obtain the current rate schedule directly from DCFS or their approving agency rather than relying on older published amounts.

Clothing Allowance

Clothing assistance may be available through the regular foster-care maintenance payment, an initial-placement allowance, or another approved payment depending on the child's needs and current DCFS policy. Resource parents should coordinate significant clothing purchases with the child's caseworker and retain receipts when documentation is required.

Daycare Assistance

Childcare assistance may be authorized when needed to maintain the placement, support an approved resource parent's employment or education, or satisfy the child's case plan. Approval depends on the child's eligibility, provider qualifications, placement circumstances, available funding, and current DCFS procedures. Families should obtain authorization before arranging or paying for ongoing childcare.

Medical Coverage

Children in Arkansas foster care generally receive Medicaid or other state-supported medical coverage for which they are eligible. Resource parents coordinate medical, dental, vision, behavioral-health, prescription, specialty, and emergency care with the child's caseworker and healthcare providers and must follow applicable consent and authorization procedures.

Mileage Reimbursement

Mileage or transportation reimbursement may be available for approved case-related travel, depending on the purpose of the trip and current DCFS policy. Qualifying travel may include family visitation, medical care, court, counseling, evaluations, or other authorized activities. Resource parents should obtain instructions and approval before submitting a reimbursement request.

Additional Benefits

Depending on the child's needs and eligibility, additional assistance may include enhanced maintenance payments, specialized-care support, respite care, childcare assistance, clothing or supply allowances, transportation help, behavioral-health services, educational support, training, and assistance obtaining equipment or services required by a documented medical or developmental need.

Respite Care

Respite care may be available to give resource families temporary relief and help stabilize placements. Respite arrangements must comply with DCFS policy and use caregivers who satisfy applicable approval, background, supervision, and safety requirements. Families should coordinate respite in advance with their resource worker or the child's caseworker whenever possible.

Support Groups

Every Child Arkansas, DCFS, licensed private agencies, churches, nonprofit organizations, and local foster-parent networks may offer support groups, family events, continuing education, resource closets, meal support, and peer connection. Availability differs by county, agency, and region, so families should ask their resource worker about current local and statewide options.

Mentoring

Experienced resource parents may provide informal or agency-supported mentoring to newly approved families. Mentors can offer practical guidance about placement calls, documentation, family visitation, court, teamwork, behavior support, reunification, and caregiver self-care. The availability and structure of mentoring programs vary by agency and region.

Counseling

Medical and behavioral-health services for children in foster care are coordinated through the child's caseworker, Medicaid providers, schools, community mental-health agencies, and other members of the child's treatment team. Resource parents may participate in treatment planning and receive consultation or training to help meet trauma-related, developmental, emotional, and behavioral needs.

Crisis Support

Resource parents should contact the child's caseworker, their resource worker, the agency's after-hours contact, or emergency services according to the urgency of the situation. Families should request and retain written contact information for medical emergencies, behavioral crises, runaway or missing-child situations, placement disruptions, abuse allegations, and other after-hours safety concerns.

Available

Yes. Arkansas allows families to become licensed resource parents, adoptive parents, or both. Resource parents who are caring for a child may later be considered as an adoptive family if reunification and other permanency options are no longer appropriate and adoption becomes the child's court-approved permanency goal.

Process

Children usually enter foster care with reunification as the primary permanency goal. Throughout the case, DCFS also evaluates relatives, fictive kin, guardianship, and other permanent family options. If parental rights are terminated or voluntarily relinquished and adoption becomes the approved permanency plan, DCFS evaluates prospective adoptive families based upon the child's best interests, attachments, sibling relationships, cultural connections, special needs, placement stability, and long-term permanency needs. A foster family caring for the child may be considered but is not automatically selected.

Legal Risk

Resource parents should understand that foster care is temporary and does not guarantee adoption. A child may reunify with parents, be placed with relatives or fictive kin, enter guardianship, or achieve another permanency outcome. Foster parents are expected to actively support the child's case plan, family visitation, reunification efforts, and important family relationships throughout the case.

Adoption Subsidy

Children meeting Arkansas adoption-assistance eligibility requirements may qualify for an adoption subsidy after adoption. Available assistance may include a negotiated monthly subsidy, Medicaid coverage when eligible, reimbursement for approved non-recurring adoption expenses, and post-adoption support services. Adoption assistance agreements should generally be completed before the adoption is finalized.

Available

Yes. Arkansas gives priority to placement with relatives and fictive kin whenever such placements can safely meet the child's needs. Fictive kin are adults who are not biologically related but have a strong, positive, family-like relationship with the child.

Licensing Differences

Relatives and fictive kin may sometimes receive emergency or provisional placement before completing the full foster-home approval process. Those wishing to become fully approved resource homes generally complete the same application, training, background checks, SAFE home study, and licensing requirements as non-relative foster families, although Arkansas law and DCFS policy may permit certain waivers that do not compromise child safety.

Financial Support

Licensed relative resource parents generally receive the same foster-care maintenance payments available to other approved resource homes. Unlicensed relatives may qualify for other financial assistance, Medicaid for eligible children, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), SNAP benefits, childcare assistance, Kinship Navigator services, and other community resources depending upon eligibility and placement circumstances.

Can I become a foster parent if I am single?

Yes. Arkansas welcomes qualified single adults as well as married couples to become foster parents.

How old do I have to be?

Applicants must generally be at least 21 years old.

Do I have to own my home?

No. Applicants may rent or own their residence provided it meets Arkansas licensing standards.

Can I work full-time?

Yes. Foster parents may work full-time if they have reliable childcare, transportation, and supervision arrangements.

How much training is required?

Arkansas requires 30 hours of approved preservice training before approval. Continuing education is required after approval.

Do I need CPR certification?

Yes. Current CPR and Standard First Aid certification are required before approval.

Can I have biological children?

Absolutely. Many Arkansas foster families have biological, adopted, or previously fostered children already living in the home.

Can foster children share bedrooms?

Yes, when Arkansas licensing standards are met. Opposite-sex children generally may not share a bedroom if either child is age 4 or older.

Can I foster infants?

Yes. Families may request approval for infants if they meet all licensing and safety requirements.

Can I have pets?

Yes. Pets are permitted provided they are safe, healthy, properly supervised, and do not present a danger to children.

Can I own firearms?

Yes. Firearms must be unloaded, securely locked, and stored separately from ammunition.

Can I choose which children I accept?

Yes. Resource parents determine the ages, sibling groups, behaviors, and special needs they feel prepared to support.

Can I decline a placement?

Yes. Families should only accept placements they believe they can safely and successfully support.

Will I receive financial assistance?

Yes. Approved resource parents receive monthly maintenance payments and children generally receive Medicaid coverage.

Can I adopt a child placed with me?

Possibly. If adoption later becomes the child's permanency goal, the foster family may be considered as an adoptive resource.

Can relatives become foster parents?

Yes. Arkansas strongly encourages placement with relatives and fictive kin whenever safe and appropriate.

State Agency

Arkansas Department of Human Services — Division of Children and Family Services

Phone

1-888-736-2820

Email

Prospective foster parents should begin through Every Child Arkansas or contact their local DCFS office for current contact information.

Address

Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Children and Family Services, 700 South Main Street, Little Rock, AR 72201