Delaware Foster Care Home Requirements and Bedroom Rules

Your home doesn't need to be large or expensive to qualify for a Delaware foster care license. But it does need to meet specific safety and space standards under 9 DE Admin. Code 201, and some of those standards trip up applicants who assume their house is "obviously fine." Here's exactly what DFS inspectors check during your home study — and the common violations that delay licensing.

Bedroom Size and Sleeping Arrangements

Delaware generally aims for 100 square feet for a single child's bedroom and 80 square feet per person for shared rooms, though minimum building code standards reference 64 to 70 square feet. The practical rule: if you can fit a bed with a frame, a chest of drawers, and some closet space — and a child can move around comfortably — you're likely fine. Measure your rooms before the home study so you know where you stand rather than finding out from the assessor.

The sleeping arrangement rules are more rigid and less negotiable. Children over age one cannot share a room with an adult. Opposite-sex children can only share a room if both are under five years old. Each infant must have their own crib — no co-sleeping, no shared cribs, no bassinets in your bedroom beyond the first year. Sleeping rooms cannot be used as the only means of access to other rooms in the home, and doors must be closable for privacy.

You don't need a dedicated "foster child bedroom" that sits empty waiting for a call. But the room you plan to use must meet these standards at the time of your home study inspection, and you need to demonstrate how you'd accommodate different placement scenarios — a school-aged boy, a teenage girl, an infant, a sibling pair. The assessor may ask "where would we put two siblings?" to understand your flexibility.

Fire Safety and Detection

Working smoke detectors on every level of the home and near all bedrooms are mandatory. Test them before your home visit — a dead battery in one detector can flag the entire inspection. If you have a fuel-burning heater, wood stove, fireplace, or an attached garage, you also need functioning carbon monoxide detectors.

Every home needs at least one fire extinguisher rated 2A 10BC, charged and accessible in the kitchen area. Check the pressure gauge — most people buy a fire extinguisher and never look at it again. If the needle is in the red zone, replace it before the inspection.

If children under three will be in the home, safety gates are required at the top and bottom of any staircase with four or more steps. The gates must be properly mounted, not just pressure-fitted models that a determined toddler can push through.

Water Temperature

Hot water temperature at any tap accessible to children cannot exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit. This is one of the most common initial violations because most water heaters are factory-set to 140 degrees. Test your taps with a thermometer — don't guess. Adjusting the water heater thermostat takes five minutes and costs nothing, but failing this check delays your licensing.

If you're on a well water system — common in Sussex County's rural areas — you'll need testing documentation confirming safe, drinkable water. The specific testing protocols aren't detailed on the main DFS recruitment pages, so ask your Foster Home Coordinator for the exact requirements early in the process.

Hazardous Materials Storage

All medications (prescription and over-the-counter), household chemicals, cleaning products, and alcohol must be stored in locked cabinets or locations genuinely inaccessible to children. This includes items you might not think of as hazardous: mouthwash, rubbing alcohol, laundry pods, bleach, nail polish remover. The assessor will open cabinets.

The "locked or inaccessible" standard means either a physical lock (keyed or childproof) or storage high enough that a child cannot reach it even with a step stool. Simply putting things on a high shelf in an open cabinet may not meet the standard, depending on the children's ages in the placement.

Firearms and Pool Safety

Delaware acknowledges that many homes have firearms but requires strict protocols. All firearms must be stored unloaded in a locked cabinet. Ammunition must be stored in a separate locked cabinet — not in the same cabinet, not on a different shelf in the same gun safe. You must have a current permit for every firearm. The inspector will verify all three conditions, and this is one area where there's no grace period or "fix it later" option.

If you have an in-ground pool, it must be fenced according to local ordinances and equipped with life-saving devices like a ring buoy. Above-ground pools must have ladders removed when not in use. Kiddie pools and inflatable pools don't require fencing but must be emptied and stored when not supervised.

Pet Requirements and Smoking Rules

All household pets must be properly vaccinated and licensed. Current rabies vaccination certificates and municipal pet licenses should be available for the assessor. The agency evaluates the temperament of each pet to ensure it's safe around children — you won't be disqualified for having a dog, but if the assessor has concerns about an aggressive or unpredictable animal, you'll need to address it.

Smoking and vaping are prohibited inside the home and in vehicles when transporting foster children. If you or anyone in your household smokes, this means outdoors only, period. The assessor checks for evidence of indoor smoking including odor and ashtrays.

Common Fix-It Items

Most home safety issues are inexpensive to fix: adjusting your water heater thermostat, adding a lock to the medicine cabinet, picking up a fire extinguisher, installing safety gates, or mounting a locking box for ammunition. DFS doesn't expect a perfect home on the first walk-through — they expect a safe one, and they'll give you a reasonable window to correct minor issues found during the initial inspection.

The items that cause real problems are structural: inadequate bedroom square footage, a pool without code-compliant fencing, or a home with lead paint or radon issues (Delaware introduced mandatory lead and radon screenings for foster homes in 2022).

For a printable room-by-room inspection checklist based on 9 DE Admin. Code 201, including every item DFS checks, our Delaware Foster Care Licensing Guide provides the preparation tool that the state doesn't publish in one place.

See more United States guides →