Child Foster Care Provider

• Providing a safe, supportive, nurturing, and inclusive environment for children who experience intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
• Providing the care, support, supervision, and positive behavior practices that enable a child who experiences I/DD to grow, develop, and build positive personal relationships and self-esteem.
• Working in partnership with the child’s parent or legal guardian, case manager, and other service providers (such as health care professionals, special education teachers, behavior consultants) to support the child’s mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
• Supporting children who have experienced trauma.
• Caring for children who may have complex behavior or medical support needs.
• Making a positive impact in the lives of children who experience I/DD.

 

• Provide structure and daily activities designed to promote a child's physical, social, intellectual, cultural, spiritual, and emotional development.
• Recognize, encourage, and support the religious beliefs, ethnic heritage, cultural identity, and language of the child and their family.
• Encourage and support the child’s participation in age appropriate and developmentally appropriate activities, such as extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities.
• Respect and support the child's relationship with their family members, including siblings (unless prohibited by Court Order).
• Participate in the development and implementation of the child’s Individual Support Plan (ISP).
• Be actively involved in the child’s school program and participate in the development of the child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).
• Promote the child’s independence and self-sufficiency by encouraging and assisting the child to develop new skills and perform age-appropriate tasks.
• Teach and support the child with respect, kindness, and understanding, using positive behavior theory and practices.
• Obtain the child’s necessary medical, dental, therapies, and other treatments of care, and carry out orders as prescribed by a licensed health care provider.

Child foster care providers receive two separate payments from the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS) for each child they support in their certified child foster home.

Payments are considered “difficulty of care” payments, which are not taxed.

Monthly Service Payment

• This is the Medicaid-funded payment to the child foster care provider for the 24-hour care and supervision of the child.
• The service payment is a monthly rate established by the Support Needs Assessment Profile (SNAP), which assesses the support needs of the child and calculates a monthly rate based on those support needs. The monthly rate will vary for each child depending on the level of support needs.
• The average monthly service payment rate in the year 2023 was approximately $4,600/month. Please note that this is an average; the monthly service payment rate for each child will be unique to the child’s support needs identified through the SNAP assessment and may be lower or higher than the average.
• While the service payment is based on a monthly rate, child foster care providers may choose to bill for services more frequently (for example, once a week). If a child foster care provider bills more frequently than once a month, the monthly rate will be prorated for the duration of the billing period.

Monthly Room & Board (R&B) Payment

• This is payment issued to the child foster care provider for room & board, and the child’s personal spending.
• The R&B payment is the same amount for each child supported in the home, as it is determined by the current standard SSI equivalent (usually increases annually when there is a Cost-of-Living Adjustment, or COLA).
• As an example, the standard SSI equivalent for 2024 is $943/month. The child foster care provider’s portion is $733, and the child’s personal spending portion is $210.
• Payment is issued once/month at the beginning of the month in which services will be provided.

All applicants for a child foster home certificate must meet certain rule requirements, which include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Be unrelated to the foster child (by blood, marriage, or adoption)
• Be 21 years of age
• Reside full-time in the residence that will be certified
• Pass an abuse check
• Pass a criminal background check
• Successfully complete 15 hours of training prior to certification

Demonstrate having income sufficient to meet the needs, and ensure the stability and financial security, of the family independent of the foster care payment.

Contact the Child Foster Home Certifier from the local Community Developmental Disabilities Program (CDDP) in the county where your primary residence is located. A Child Foster Home Certifier will discuss the certification process with you and answer any questions you may have.

Complete an initial application packet and supplemental application materials.

Complete a Home Study and personal interview with your local certifier.

Pass a home inspection, which will include an on-site, physical review of your home by your local certifier to ensure your home meets all health and safety requirements.

Make necessary corrections identified on the initial inspection report.

Submit all completed application materials to your certifier, who will provide them to the I/DD Foster Homes Licensing Unit for final review. A decision to approve or deny certification will be made by the I/DD Foster Homes Licensing Unit within 60 calendar days from the receipt of the completed application materials.