Hawaii Foster Care Board Rates and Financial Support (2025)

Hawaii has some of the highest foster care board rates in the country. That is not an accident — it reflects the state's explicit acknowledgment that the cost of raising a child in Hawaii is dramatically higher than the national average, and that setting board rates too low would make fostering financially impossible for many families.

What the state pays, and what else is available, is worth knowing in detail before you decide whether you can afford to open your home.

Monthly Board Rates by Age (2024-2025)

The base monthly stipend is determined by the age of the child placed in your care:

These are the base rates for general resource family placements. Board payments are non-taxable income — they are treated as reimbursement for the cost of the child's care, not as earned income, so they do not need to be reported as taxable wages.

The current rate schedule reflects increases secured through a legal settlement following a period where Hawaii's stipends had fallen significantly below what the DHS itself acknowledged was necessary to meet the state's cost of living. The settlement was a landmark for resource caregivers who had advocated for years that the prior rates were inadequate.

Annual Clothing Allowance

In addition to the monthly board rate, resource caregivers receive an annual clothing allowance for each foster child:

The clothing allowance is paid separately from the monthly board rate and is intended to cover the cost of appropriate clothing as children grow, change schools, or age into different size ranges.

Difficulty of Care Payments

Children with significant medical, behavioral, or developmental needs qualify for an additional Difficulty of Care (DOC) payment of up to $570 per month on top of the base board rate. This payment is for placements involving:

• Children with serious behavioral health challenges
• Medically complex children requiring specialized care
• Children in therapeutic foster care (Nā 'Ohana Pulāma) placements

Not every placement qualifies for DOC funding — it is tied to the specific child's assessed needs as documented in their case plan, not to a general application by the caregiver. If a child placed with you has needs that qualify, your DHS worker will document this in the placement agreement.

For therapeutic foster care families working through Catholic Charities Hawaii, the combined board rate and DOC support structure is higher than standard placements, reflecting the intensive nature of that care.

Special Event Funds

Up to $125 per year per child is available from DHS for special event or extracurricular needs — things like sports registration fees, prom attire, school activity fees, or other one-time expenses outside the scope of the regular board rate.

Additionally, private foundation funding is available through sources like the Victoria S. and Bradley L. Geist Foundation, which provides enhancement funds for activities such as hula lessons, sports programs, or other enrichment opportunities for Hawaii foster children. These funds are separate from state payments and typically coordinated through DHS or contracted agencies.

Med-QUEST: Medical Coverage for Foster Children

Every child placed in Hawaii foster care is enrolled in Med-QUEST, which is Hawaii's Medicaid program. Med-QUEST provides comprehensive coverage including:

• Medical and preventive care
• Dental care
• Vision care
• Behavioral health services and mental health treatment
• Prescription medications

As a resource caregiver, you do not pay for the child's medical care out of your own pocket — Med-QUEST covers it. You do need to take the child to Med-QUEST-participating providers. If you have questions about finding covered providers in your area, DHS and Catholic Charities Hawaii can provide referrals.

Mileage Reimbursement

Resource caregivers are reimbursed at the state rate for mileage related to:

• Transporting the child to court-ordered therapy or mental health appointments
• Driving to birth parent visitation meetings
• Attending IEP or school team meetings related to the child's case

Keep a mileage log with dates, destinations, and purpose of each trip. Reimbursement requires documentation.

Higher Education Board Payments for Former Foster Youth

For youth who age out of Hawaii foster care and continue into post-secondary education, the monthly board payment — at the age-18+ rate — can continue up to age 26 if the youth is enrolled in school. This is a significant state commitment to long-term outcomes for older youth, and resource caregivers should make sure youth they care for are aware of this option well before they turn 18.

What Board Rates Are Not

Board payments are not a salary. They are not intended to cover the caregiver's own household expenses, mortgage, or personal costs. They are structured to reimburse the documented cost of caring for a child — food, shelter, transportation, clothing, and basic needs.

This matters practically: if a resource caregiver's own household is financially stretched, adding a foster child's expenses to that stretch can create hardship even with the board payment. The financial evaluation during the home study is partly checking that the household is stable before a child is placed, not that the board rate will solve existing financial problems.

With that said, for many Hawaii families — particularly kinship caregivers who are already informally supporting a relative's child without any financial assistance — formal licensing unlocks significant support that changes the equation entirely. A grandparent caring for a grandchild informally receives nothing from the state. A licensed relative caregiver for the same child receives the full board rate, clothing allowance, and Med-QUEST coverage.

For a complete breakdown of financial support, how to apply for DOC payments, and what to document for mileage reimbursement, see the Hawaii Foster Care Licensing Guide.

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