How Much Do Foster Parents Get Paid in Kentucky?

The most common question from people considering fostering in Kentucky: how much does the state pay foster parents? It's a practical question, and there's nothing wrong with asking it. You need to know whether the reimbursement covers what it costs to care for a child before you can make an honest decision.

The short answer: Kentucky's per diem is a reimbursement for child-related expenses, not a salary. The longer answer involves care levels, age tiers, and supplemental allowances that together determine your actual monthly support.

What "Per Diem" Actually Means

Kentucky pays foster parents a daily per diem — a flat daily rate for each child in your home. The rate varies by the child's age and the level of care your home is certified to provide. It's calculated daily and paid monthly.

This is not income. Kentucky DCBS regulations are explicit: you must have a source of income independent of the foster care per diem to qualify for licensure. The per diem is intended to cover the child's food, clothing, transportation, personal expenses, and incidentals. Families who treat the stipend as household income tend to struggle — and DCBS specifically looks for income independence during the home study.

2024 Kentucky Per Diem Rates

The following rates are effective July 1, 2024, per DCBS reimbursement schedules:

Monthly estimates (based on a 30-day month):

Most new foster families start at the Basic level. Advancing to a higher level requires additional training and an application through DCBS.

What Each Care Level Means

Basic/Standard covers general foster care for children without significant specialized needs. This is where most applicants begin.

Advanced requires additional training hours beyond TIPS-MAPP and allows placement of children with more complex needs. The higher rate reflects the additional training investment.

Care Plus is for children with specialized behavioral needs — typically children with significant trauma histories, behavioral diagnoses, or complex mental health presentations. Getting Care Plus certification early is something experienced Kentucky foster parents often cite as advice they wish they'd received sooner. The training is more intensive, but the additional per diem and the specialized training can make a meaningful difference in how well-prepared you are for the children most in need of placement.

Medically Complex requires RN, MD, or equivalent medical certification, or intensive medical training. The $47.49 base rate can increase significantly for specialized cases — up to $108.64/day under current DCBS schedules.

Supplemental Allowances

The per diem is not the only financial support Kentucky provides. Additional allowances include:

At placement:

• Initial clothing stipend: $100 for an infant, scaling up to $290 for a teenager

Annually:

• School clothing start-up: $50–$100 per school year
• Birthday stipend: $25
• Christmas stipend: $60

One-time:

• Senior graduation expenses: up to $650

Ongoing:

• Lifebook: $70 for initial book creation, $25 semi-annually for updates

These stipends are categorical — they're intended for specific purposes and paid upon request or automatically at certain milestones. Keep records.

Medical Coverage: Medicaid for Every Child

Every child in DCBS custody is automatically enrolled in Kentucky Medicaid, often managed through a managed care organization (MCO) like Passport Health Plan or similar. You will receive a Medicaid card at placement or shortly after.

This covers medical, dental, and mental health care for the child. You are responsible for maintaining the child's Medical Passport — a document tracking the child's health history, medications, and provider contacts. Every foster parent is required to log medications in the Medical Passport and ensure regular medical and dental appointments are kept.

Child Care Subsidy for Working Foster Parents

If you work and need child care for a foster child, Kentucky offers a child care subsidy through the Division of Child Care (DCC). The approval form is the DCC-85. This applies to licensed child care providers and can significantly offset daily care costs for foster parents with younger children in placement.

Respite Care

Respite care — temporary relief care when you need a break — is built into the Basic and Advanced per diem at a low level. Care Plus and Medically Complex homes may access a dedicated respite network for additional relief days beyond what the standard per diem covers.

If you're fostering a child with high needs and burning out, using respite is not a sign of failure — it's part of the support structure DCBS expects you to use.

Does Foster Care Pay Well?

To be direct: no. The per diem is not designed to make fostering financially attractive. A Basic-level child under 12 generates roughly $810/month in reimbursement. The actual cost of raising a child — food, transportation, activities, school supplies, clothing beyond the initial stipend — can easily match or exceed that in real-world households.

Families who foster for financial reasons tend to exit the system quickly and sometimes poorly. Families who foster because of conviction — religious calling, community need, family circumstances — and who have stable income, see the per diem for what it is: an offset, not a source of livelihood.

The financial reality of fostering in Kentucky is that you'll need independent income, and the per diem will cover most but not all direct child-related costs if you budget carefully.

What About Taxes?

Foster care payments from DCBS are generally not considered taxable income at the federal level, as they are reimbursements rather than compensation. However, tax treatment can vary depending on your specific situation. Consult a tax professional — especially if you're fostering multiple children at different care levels, as the complexity increases.

If you want a full picture of the Kentucky foster care process — from licensing requirements to per diem rates to what to expect in placement — the Kentucky Foster Care Licensing Guide covers the financial details alongside the regulatory and procedural steps.

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