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Foster Home Licensing Standards

PROTECTIVE SERVICE INVOLVEMENT


If an applicant or any members of the household have been investigated for abuse or neglect and the investigative
worker decided that you were responsible in the charge alleged against you, we may close your application.

VIOLENT BEHAVIOR
If an applicant or any members of the household have been convicted of any violent/assault charge in the past
five years, your application will be closed. This would include domestic violence, fights, hurting children,
communicating threats, and any other charges of harm to others.

WEAPONS/FIREARMS IN THE HOME


If you have handguns, rifles, ammunition, bow and arrow, swords or other explosives, these MUST be kept in a
separate lock box or gun safe. Gun cabinets (glass) and all trigger locks are unacceptable because a child could
still have access to the weapon.

ILLEGAL SUBSTANCES
If an applicant or any members of the household have been convicted of a felony or possessing, using, or selling
illegal drugs, or drug paraphernalia, your application will be closed. A possible exception could be a misdemeanor
conviction at least ten years ago.

ALCOHOL CONVICTIONS
An applicant or any other members of the household who has been convicted in the past five years of alcohol-
related charges such as DWI or public drunkenness, or if you have been dealing with alcohol-related issues within
the past five years, your application will be closed.

CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECK


A local and statewide criminal records check is completed as followed:
 Record Check: Applicants and any household member(s) 16 years of age and older criminal record checks
will be obtained by DSS.
 Fingerprint Check: Applicants and any household member(s) 18 years of age and older MUST OBTAIN
FINGERPRINTS, which are checked through FBI and SBI. Forms will be provided by DSS.
 Sexual offenders registry checked
 Child abuse registry checked
 Department of Corrections registry checked
 An applicant shall not be eligible for licensure if the applicant or any member of the applicant’s household
18 years of age or older refuses to consent to any criminal history check.
 An applicant may not be eligible for licensure if the licensing authority determines, based on the criminal
history, that the applicant or any member of the applicant’s household 18 years of age or older has the
following charges and/or convictions: assault charges, drug charges, pattern of deviant behavior, or other
charges that deem them unfit to have responsibility for the safety and well being of children.

 In addition, a Civil Records search will be conducted. The purpose of this search is to look for any history
of domestic violence (50B- domestic violence restraining order), bankruptcies, divorce/custody disputes,
and any other civil matters not included in Criminal Records.

NEW BABY/NEW MARRIAGE


If you have had a new baby in the last year, or been married less than one year, we will ask that you not pursue
foster parent training at this time. Our experience has been that your energies would need to be in building your
own family, and would limit your ability to focus on the special needs of foster children.

INCOME

Applicant must be sufficient to meet own needs. Financial statement must be completed for initial licensure and
relicensure. PLEASE NOTE: If you have applied for Emergency Assistance (EA) to help with your rent, lights,
foods, etc., from any public or private agency within the last year, you cannot be considered as an applicant for
the foster care program. You may apply one year from your last request for Emergency Assistance. The one year
waiting period may be extended in some cases.

SEPARATION/ DIVORCE/RELOCATION OR OTHER LOSS


If you have experienced a divorce, marital separation, miscarriage, relocation, death of a child or significant
family member, or other significant loss within the last year, we will ask that you not pursue foster parent training
at this time. We appreciate the grieving process and do believe strongly that you should resolve these issues before
parenting children who have experienced great losses in their lives.
Applicants who have been a resident of the state for less than a year, we will ask that you not pursue foster parent
training at this time. Our experience has been that your energies would be in familiarizing yourself with the state,
resources available and acclimation to your community. The only possible exception might be a person who is
currently licensed in another state and willing to take our foster parent MAPP training.

MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Medical and mental health conditions of an applicant or any other members of the household will be assed in
regards to the ability to provide care and safety to children. Please be prepared to provide relevant medical
information to allow the agency to be best informed in the licensure process. If you are currently receiving a
Disability check from Social Security Administration, we will need to obtain additional information regarding
your condition, and assess the impact of your disability on your ability to parent foster children. Your medical
information will not be shared with anyone outside of DCDSS and state of licensure office.

DAY CARE PROVIDERS


If you are a daycare provider, please note that N.C. State regulations provide standards for foster parents and their
homes. These standards must meet in order to be licensed to provide care to children. Foster parent standards
differ from those specified for day care operators and provide limitations with regards to the number of children
you can serve, including your birth children. To be a foster parent and operate as a daycare provider, you will
most likely have to change the composition and possibly the number of children you care for in your day care
business. You can only care for five (5) five children all together, including your birth children, daycare children,
children in after school care, and children in foster care.

ELIGIBILITY FOR CHILD CARE (NOT A GIVEN FOR FOSTER CHILDREN)


In order to be eligible for child care services as a foster parent, the foster parent(s), must be employed, attending
school or job training that leads to employment, or to meet the developmental needs of the foster child. If one
parent is remaining in the home they must be incapable of providing care for the children because of physical or
mental disability, advanced age or extreme youth. The number of hours a child spends in childcare needs to
coincide with the number of hours his or her caretaker works/attends school (with allowance for travel or study).
The Child Day Care Department will help you determine how many hours that each child qualifies for care.
Please note that 3rd shift day care is not allowed.

PET POLICY
If you have breeds of dogs that have been known to be vicious/aggressive, such as Pitt Bulls, Chow, Doberman
Pinscher, Bullmastiff, Perrowould de Presa Canario , Rottweiler and Boxers, etc. we may not approve your home
for licensure. If you have a dog in your home that is on our list of aggressive dogs, but you think would not pose
a problem to a foster child, you would have to secure a temperament test from a veterinarian that speaks to how
the dog responds to strangers.That test would be at the prospective family’s expense. A safety plan will need to
be developed before your application can be approved on a case -by -case basis regarding other dogs, exotic
animals or any other animals that may be aggressive towards children. Some applicants have chosen to lodge their
animals elsewhere rather than expose a child to possible danger, and risk personal liability. There should be no
more than three (3) household animals and supervision is expected of all foster children around animals. Foster
children cannot be responsible for the care of the animals.

SMOKING
Because of the dangers of secondary smoke inhalation, we require foster parents whom smoke not to smoke in an
enclosed area around the children. All matches and lighters must be stored away from children, and you are
responsible for ensuring that children do not have access to them.

DOOR LOCKS
The Fire Marshal’s Office requires that you do not have a double key dead bolt lock that requires a key to be
used before exiting your home. You can have a double bolt lock that has a turn lock.

UNMARRIED COUPLES
If you are not married, but are living as a couple, your relationship must demonstrate stability, and both partners
must attend foster parent preparation training.

SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FOLLOWING LICENSURE


Once licensed, all foster parents are expected to report any significant changes that occur within their family as
followed:
 Birth of a child
 Any member or additions to the household
 Pets
 Changes to the structure or environment of the home
 Change of residence
 Marital separation
 Job loss
 Criminal charges
 Purchase of weapons
Training
The State of North Carolina requires thirty (30) hours of pre-service training. An additional 20 hours of training
is required biennially (at least 10 hours per year) for relicensure. BOTH HUSBAND AND WIFE OR
PARTNERS MUST COMPLETE ALL TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.

The concerns and issues discussed here have routinely led families to change their minds about pursuing foster
care before investing the time and energies involved in the training program. Durham County DSS will address
each of these issues as we gather and process information about each applicant. THIS LIST IS NOT ALL
INCLUSIVE, AND ADDITONAL CONCERNS MAY BE IDENTIFIED AS WE BEGIN THE
ASSESSMENT PROCESS AND YOU BEGIN TO SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT YOURSELVES
AND YOUR FAMILIES. If you feel there might be a question about something in your personal life or those of
your family members please talk to the Recruiter, Trainers, or Licensing workers to address the concerns.

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