Missouri · foster care
How to become a foster parent in Missouri
Missouri licenses foster homes through the Department of Social Services Children's Division, which also contracts with private child-placing agencies to develop and support resource families. You'll attend an informational meeting, submit the CS-42 application, clear fingerprint and child abuse/neglect registry checks for everyone over 17 in your home, finish about 30 hours of MO C.A.R.E. pre-service training plus CPR/First Aid, and complete a family assessment with at least two home visits and three references. When everything is in, the Children's Division issues a license good for up to two years. Several of those run at the same time — your community can walk with you through each one.
16 steps, checked against Missouri Department of Social Services, Children's Division’s own pages as of 2026-08-23. Read the source.
The process
16 steps, in 9 stages
Steps with no “after” note below don’t wait on each other — the Missouri 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 Missouri
Read the Children's Division foster care pages to see what fostering asks of you. In Missouri you must be at least 21, and you can be single or married, rent or own — the license comes from the Children's Division after training, background checks, and a home assessment.
Talk with foster parents and your familyOptional
Talk with current foster parents and with everyone in your household about what fostering would mean for your family. The Children's Division's FAQ answers common questions, and you can call 800-554-2222 with your own.
Learning the requirements
Review who can foster and what a license requiresOptional
Skim Missouri's foster home licensing rules, 13 CSR 35-60. Foster parents must be at least 21, responsible and mature people of reputable character, and everyone in the home must be in good health; a license runs for a term of up to two years.
Informational meeting
Attend an informational meeting
Attend an informational meeting near you, or get started through the Missouri Foster Parent Portal or by calling 800-554-2222. Staff go over the services, rewards, and challenges of fostering and answer your questions before you apply.
Application
Choose the Children's Division or a partner agency
The Children's Division is the licensing entity for every Missouri resource home, but it contracts with licensed child-placing agencies to develop and support foster families in many areas. Decide who will walk with you — your local Children's Division office or a contracted agency serving your county — since they'll run your training and assessment.
MO Child Welfare Manual, Sec. 6 Ch. 3.1 (Resource Provider Licensing)
Submit your foster home application (CS-42)
Sign and submit the CS-42 Application for Foster/Adopt Home Assessment, completed by the one or two primary adults in your household who will provide foster care. It authorizes the Children's Division to run your background checks and starts the home study and pre-service training process.
After Attend an informational meeting, Choose the Children's Division or a partner agency
Background checks
Complete fingerprint background checks
Every person over 17 living in your home — plus any younger child the division has determined was certified as an adult for a crime — submits fingerprints for state and federal criminal record checks under RSMo 210.487. These must be completed before a license is issued.
After Submit your foster home application (CS-42)
Cost: Fingerprinting costs may be paid or reimbursed by the state, subject to appropriation (RSMo 210.487)
Clear child abuse and neglect registry checks
The Children's Division checks whether anyone over 17 in your home appears on the child abuse and neglect registry, the same set of people who are fingerprinted. This runs alongside the criminal checks rather than after them.
After Submit your foster home application (CS-42)
Home study
Turn in physician health statements
A physician must determine that you and every proposed member of your foster family are in good physical and mental health, completing the licensing form for each family member. The form verifies that each person poses no risk to the health and safety of children.
After Submit your foster home application (CS-42)
Provide three personal references
Give your worker the names of people who know your family well. A minimum of three personal references — plus a reference from your current employer, if applicable — must be returned as part of your family assessment before it can be completed.
After Submit your foster home application (CS-42)
MO Child Welfare Manual, Sec. 6 Ch. 3 (Resource Family Assessment)
Complete the family assessment (home study)
Your worker completes a family assessment with a minimum of two separate home visits and joint and separate interviews with you and everyone in your home, including children. For non-relative applicants it must be finished within 120 days of the first day of pre-service training, so it runs alongside your classes.
After Submit your foster home application (CS-42)
Takes about Completed within 120 days of the first day of pre-service training
MO Child Welfare Manual, Sec. 6 Ch. 3 (Resource Family Assessment)
Pass the home safety review
During the home visits your worker verifies that your home meets the physical and environmental standards in 13 CSR 35-60.040, which cover sleeping arrangements and fire and safety requirements. Firearms and ammunition must be stored locked and inaccessible to children, and their storage is made available for viewing by Children's Division staff.
After Submit your foster home application (CS-42)
Training
Complete MO C.A.R.E. pre-service training
Complete Missouri Caregiver and Adoption Resource Education (MO C.A.R.E.), the trauma-informed pre-service course that replaced STARS in early 2024: about 30 hours over ten sessions, adapted from the National Training and Development Curriculum. Every adult in the home who will have childcare responsibility attends, and pre-service must be finished before your license is issued.
After Submit your foster home application (CS-42)
Takes about About 30 hours (ten sessions)
Missouri DSS - MO C.A.R.E. (Missouri Caregiver and Adoption Resource Education)
Get certified in CPR and First Aid
Complete CPR training before your license can be issued, along with First Aid certification. Missouri counts three training credit hours for CPR and three for First Aid, and you must keep certification current every two years for each re-licensure, including a hands-on, in-person skills assessment by a certified CPR instructor.
After Submit your foster home application (CS-42)
Takes about About 6 hours (CPR + First Aid)
MO Child Welfare Manual, Sec. 6 Ch. 2.2 (In-Service Training)
Licensing / approval
Receive your Missouri foster home license
When your training, background checks, health statements, references, and family assessment are all complete and your home meets the standards, the Children's Division authorizes issuance of your foster home license. It runs for a term of up to two years and is renewable at expiration.
After Complete the family assessment (home study), Turn in physician health statements, Provide three personal references, Complete MO C.A.R.E. pre-service training, Pass the home safety review, Complete fingerprint background checks, Get certified in CPR and First Aid, Clear child abuse and neglect registry checks
First placement readiness
Set up your home and stay placement-ready
Ready the sleeping space and supplies you'll need for a child, and sign up for the Foster Parent Portal to manage your licensing information. A few required trainings come due in your first 90 days after licensure, and you'll need 30 hours of in-service training during each two-year licensure period — pre-service hours don't count toward it — so your license stays current when a placement call comes.
After Receive your Missouri 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 Missouri process?
This is a plain-language summary, not the regulation itself. Every step above links to Missouri Department of Social Services, Children's Division’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.