California Foster Care Requirements (2025)

California has gone further than most states to broaden who can become a resource family. Single people, same-sex couples, renters, people without college degrees — the state's requirements focus on your ability to provide a safe, stable home, not on fitting a particular demographic profile.

Here's what California actually requires for Resource Family Approval (RFA) in 2025.

Age

You must be at least 18 years old. There is no upper age limit. California courts have approved resource families well into their 60s and 70s, particularly for kinship caregivers (grandparents, aunts and uncles) who are raising relatives.

Household Composition

California's policy reflects the state's diverse family landscape:

• Single adults can apply
• Married couples can apply
• Domestic partners can apply
• Cohabiting couples can apply
• Sexual orientation and gender identity cannot be used as grounds for denial under the California Foster Care Non-Discrimination Act (AB 458)

You do not need to have children already in your home. You do not need to own your home. Renters qualify as long as your lease gives you "control of property" — typically documented with your rental agreement.

Residency and Housing

You must live in California. Your home address must be within California, and you must have legal control of the property — meaning you can authorize a safety inspection and continue to reside there for the duration of your approval.

When you move, you don't start over. RFA approvals are transferable to a new address through a Portability Application (RFA-10), which adjusts your approval to the new location.

Income and Financial Stability

There is no minimum income dollar amount. California does not require a specific salary or bank balance. What the RFA process assesses is financial self-sufficiency — whether you can meet your own household expenses without relying on the foster care stipend to pay your bills.

The monthly foster care payment is meant to cover the costs of caring for the child. It is not designed to subsidize your rent or utilities. If your income wouldn't cover your household without the stipend, the family evaluation will flag this as a concern.

Criminal History

A criminal record does not automatically disqualify you — but some offenses do. Health & Safety Code §1522 lists offenses that result in an automatic denial: serious violent felonies, crimes against children, and certain sexual offenses are among them.

For everything else — misdemeanors, older convictions, charges that were dismissed, non-disqualifying felonies — an applicant can request a Criminal Record Exemption. This requires:

• Three signed character references
• A personal statement addressing the criminal history
• Evidence of rehabilitation and current good character

The exemption process takes time (75 days or more in many cases), so knowing your history and planning for it in advance is important. All adults 18 and older in your home undergo the same LiveScan fingerprinting and background check process.

Health

Applicants must certify that they are in good physical and mental health sufficient to provide care. This is done through a self-disclosure Health Questionnaire (Form RFA-07). If the county has specific concerns, they can request a physician's screening, but a full medical exam is not universally required.

TB screening is no longer a mandatory pre-approval requirement for all applicants under the current Written Directives. Counties retain discretion to require it if health concerns are identified during the process.

Training

Before your application can be finalized, all adult applicants must complete:

• 12 hours of pre-approval training (MAPP or PRIDE curriculum — trauma-informed care, child welfare system, ICWA, reunification)
• CPR and First Aid certification (can be completed within 90 days of approval in some counties)
• Mandated Reporter training (under California Penal Code §11165.7)

Training is typically offered by your county welfare department or FFA in multiple formats — evening sessions, weekends, or online modules.

After approval, ongoing training of 8 hours per year is required to keep your RFA active.

Home Safety Standards

Your home must pass a physical inspection using the RFA-03 checklist. The main requirements:

• Bedrooms: No more than 4 children per room; each child needs their own bed with clean linens; infants need safe cribs (no drop-side)
• Detectors: Working smoke and CO detectors in every hallway outside sleeping areas
• Firearms: Unloaded in a locked container; ammunition in a separate locked container
• Pools: 5-foot perimeter fence with self-closing, self-latching gates that swing away from the water
• Hazardous materials: Medications and household chemicals locked or inaccessible to children
• Sanitation: Clean, in good repair, functional plumbing, hot water at a safe temperature

The inspection is not meant to be punitive. Most homes pass with minor adjustments. The most common failure points are CO detector placement, hot water heater temperature, and firearm storage that's technically locked but not meeting the separate ammunition storage requirement.

What Does Not Disqualify You

California has explicitly prohibited the following from being used as disqualifying factors:

• Sexual orientation or gender identity
• Marital status
• Being a renter rather than a homeowner
• Age (above 18)
• Not having prior parenting experience

The state wants more resource families — particularly in communities that reflect the demographics of children in care. The requirements are intentionally broad to support that goal.

For the full RFA application process — forms, timeline, what to expect at each stage, and how to handle complications — the California Foster Care Licensing Guide provides a step-by-step walkthrough built around California's specific Written Directives and county-level variations.

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