Foster Care Maintenance Payments in Missouri: Rates, Reimbursements, and What You Actually Receive

One of the most common questions prospective foster parents ask — and one the state's website does a poor job answering clearly — is how much Missouri actually pays foster families. The short answer: it depends on the child's age, their level of care needs, and whether you are a licensed or unlicensed kinship provider. The payments are not income. They are non-taxable reimbursements intended to cover the cost of food, shelter, clothing, and daily care for a child in state custody.

Here is the full breakdown.

Monthly Maintenance Rates

Missouri's Children's Division uses a tiered reimbursement schedule based on the child's age and the foster home's certification level.

Standard Licensed Foster Home Rates

These are the base rates for a standard licensed foster home. The payment is calculated from the daily rate multiplied by the number of days of care in the month, and it covers food, housing, basic clothing, personal needs, and daily supervision.

Elevated Needs Rates

Children with higher levels of behavioral, emotional, or medical needs are classified under Missouri's Elevated Needs system. Foster parents caring for these children receive significantly higher reimbursement — but must complete additional training and certification.

Level A covers children with significant trauma-related behavioral challenges. Level B is for children requiring clinical-level care, including medication management and crisis intervention. Both levels require the foster parent to maintain specialized certification through ongoing training.

Unlicensed Kinship Rates

Relative caregivers who have not completed the full licensing process receive lower rates:

This is the biggest financial argument for kinship caregivers to pursue full licensure. A grandmother caring for a 10-year-old, for example, would receive $408 per month unlicensed versus $577 licensed — a difference of $169 per month, or over $2,000 per year. The licensing process takes effort, but the financial gap is substantial for families on fixed incomes.

Additional Reimbursements and Benefits

Beyond the monthly maintenance payment, Missouri provides several supplemental supports that many foster families do not realize they qualify for.

Mileage reimbursement. As of July 1, 2025, Missouri reimburses foster parents at $0.70 per mile for transporting children to medical appointments, therapy sessions, court hearings, birth parent visitations, and approved training. You must submit a completed Travel Expense Log through the FACES/SAM II portal within 30 days of the month the travel occurred. Foster parents who drive children to school of origin under McKinney-Vento protections can also claim mileage.

Respite care. Foster parents receiving standard maintenance get up to 12 respite units per year at $25 per unit ($300 total). Families with children on elevated or above-base maintenance get 19 units per year at $26.25 per unit ($498.75 total). Respite is critical for preventing burnout — use it.

Clothing allowances. An annual clothing allowance is authorized for each foster child, coordinated through the child's caseworker. The amount varies by age and case plan goals.

Childcare subsidies. Working foster parents can receive subsidized daycare through Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Office of Childhood. You must use a state-contracted, licensed provider. If you attend approved licensing training, babysitting costs are reimbursed at $2 per hour per child, including your biological children.

MO HealthNet (Medicaid). Every child in state custody is automatically enrolled. Medical, dental, vision, and mental health care are fully covered. There is no cost to the foster family for the child's healthcare.

Tax Benefits

Missouri offers two significant tax advantages for foster and adoptive families:

State tax deduction. Licensed Missouri foster parents can deduct up to $5,000 on their state income taxes. The Children's Division issues a Resource Provider Income Tax Foster Youth Dependent Claim Letter (Form CD-184) to eligible providers.

Adoption tax credit. Families who adopt a child from state custody may claim a Missouri adoption tax credit of up to $10,000 for non-recurring, non-reimbursed adoption expenses. This is separate from the federal adoption tax credit.

Foster care maintenance payments themselves are non-taxable and do not need to be reported as income on federal or state returns.

Adoption Subsidy Rates

If a child is adopted from foster care, Missouri provides ongoing adoption subsidy payments to support the transition. These are lower than foster care maintenance rates but continue until the child turns 18 (or 21 in some cases):

A specialized medical subsidy of $865 per month is available for children with extraordinary medical or psychiatric care needs post-adoption.

Missouri Foster Care by the Numbers

Understanding the scope of Missouri's foster care system puts these payments in context. Missouri's Children's Division operates through more than 45 judicial circuit offices and partners with private P4C agencies to manage the state's foster care caseload. KVC Missouri alone supervises over 1,200 youth and more than 1,100 resource homes statewide. The system relies on a mix of licensed traditional foster homes, kinship placements, and elevated-needs providers to serve children across urban centers like St. Louis and Kansas City and rural regions from the Ozarks to the Bootheel.

The persistent shortage of licensed homes — particularly in rural circuits — means that children are sometimes placed far from their schools, siblings, and communities. Every new licensed home helps close that gap.

Making the Numbers Work

Foster care payments are not designed to be household income. They are designed to offset the real costs of feeding, clothing, housing, and caring for an additional child. Some months those costs will exceed the payment. Some months they will not.

What matters is going in with accurate expectations. The state requires that you demonstrate adequate income independent of foster care reimbursement — because these payments are a cost offset, not a salary.

For the full financial picture — including how to track mileage, submit respite invoices, and navigate the SAM II reimbursement portal — the Missouri Foster Care Licensing Guide breaks down every dollar and every form in one place.

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