How to Become a Foster Parent in Oregon

Oregon currently has 4,577 children in foster care on any given day, and that number grew by 12% between 2024 and 2025 — largely because parent substance use factors into nearly 40% of all abuse reports statewide. The system needs certified resource parents. If you're considering stepping forward, here is exactly how the process works, from your first phone call to the day a child walks through your door.

Step 1: Make Initial Contact

You have two entry points. The first is Every Child Oregon (everychildoregon.org or 800-331-0503), the statewide nonprofit that handles initial recruitment inquiries and accounts for more than 80% of new foster parent contacts in Oregon. The second is contacting your local ODHS Child Welfare district office directly. Either way, expect a follow-up within two business days to schedule an orientation.

Oregon divides the state into 16 districts. Your district depends on your county — Multnomah County residents go through District 2 (Portland), Marion and Polk through District 3 (Salem), Lane through District 5 (Eugene), and so on. Knowing your district matters because staffing levels, wait times, and agency partnerships vary by region.

Step 2: Attend Orientation

Orientation is mandatory before you receive an application packet. It covers the ODHS system overview, the role of a resource parent, typical timelines, and what to expect from training. Most districts now offer virtual orientations, which removes a significant barrier for rural applicants in eastern Oregon.

Orientation is free. Come prepared with questions about your specific county's wait times and whether a private agency pathway might suit your situation better than going directly through ODHS.

Step 3: Submit Your Application

The primary application form is CF 1260A ("Application for Certification as a Resource Parent"). Alongside it, you will submit:

• A financial statement (Form CF 0738 or equivalent) demonstrating you can support your existing household without relying on foster care maintenance payments
• Proof of valid auto insurance and driver's licenses for all household members who will transport children
• A medical statement signed by a physician
• The CF 1019A form acknowledging the Oregon Foster Parent Bill of Rights

There is no application fee. Oregon law (ORS 418.648) codifies foster parent rights from the first moment of application, so you are protected by statute even before certification is granted.

Step 4: Complete the Background Checks

Every adult in your household — anyone 18 or older — must complete Oregon's multi-layer background check process under OAR 413-208:

1. Oregon State Criminal History via the Law Enforcement Data System (LEDS)
2. FBI National Fingerprint Check through a third-party vendor such as Fieldprint (processed via Oregon State Police)
3. Child Welfare CARIS Check — a search of Oregon's Child Abuse Reporting and Intake System
4. Sex Offender Registry search (Oregon SOIS and national databases)
5. Interstate Registry Checks if any adult household member has lived outside Oregon in the past five years

Absolute disqualifiers include convictions for murder, child abuse or neglect, sexual assault, and felony crimes against a child. For other criminal history, ODHS conducts a "weighing test" that considers the nature of the offense, time elapsed, and evidence of rehabilitation. The single most common application mistake is failing to disclose older arrests or convictions — transparency consistently produces better outcomes than omission.

If you need a guide that walks through how to approach your background check results, including what the weighing test actually looks at, see the Oregon Foster Care Licensing Guide.

Step 5: Complete RAFT Training

Oregon's pre-service training program is called RAFT (Resource and Adoptive Family Training). It replaced the older PRIDE curriculum and consists of nine sessions totaling 27 hours. Training is provided free of charge and is available in virtual, in-person, or hybrid formats depending on your district.

Sessions cover attachment theory (using Trust-Based Relational Intervention), LGBTQ+ affirmation, grief and trauma, mandatory reporting, sibling bonds, reunification, cultural identity, and permanency. You register through a Workday Learning account, which tracks your progress and certifications throughout your foster care career.

If you miss a session, you typically must wait for the next cohort to complete that specific module before certification proceeds. Rural applicants in eastern Oregon have access to "Just-in-Time" on-demand modules to bridge gaps in session availability.

Non-relative resource parents must complete 30 hours of ongoing training every two-year certification period after initial licensing.

Step 6: Complete the Home Study

The home study is conducted by an ODHS certifier or a licensed private agency worker. It requires a minimum of two home visits and includes:

• Individual and joint interviews assessing your family dynamics, discipline philosophy, and life history
• A personal autobiography explaining your background and motivation
• At least two (usually three) personal reference letters
• A physical inspection of your home using the OAR 413-200 Safety Requirements Checklist

Oregon's geography creates region-specific inspection requirements. Western Oregon homes are inspected for earthquake safety — certifiers look for anchored bookshelves, TVs, and heavy appliances. Eastern and southern Oregon homes must have a written wildfire evacuation plan posted visibly (typically on the refrigerator). Coastal homes are assessed for flood zone evacuation routes. Rural homes on private water sources must provide recent well water test results.

The average certification timeline from application to approved certificate runs several months. Once issued, a non-relative certificate is valid for two years before renewal.

Step 7: Receive Your Certificate and Await Placement

Once certified, you will be matched with children based on your household's assessed capacity, the child's needs, proximity to the child's family and school of origin, and sibling attachment considerations. You have the right under ORS 418.648 to accept or decline a placement based on your current capacity.

Oregon operates under a concurrent planning model: reunification with birth parents is always the primary goal, and adoption is pursued as a simultaneous secondary track. Resource parents are expected to support visitation, maintain a professional relationship with birth families, and actively participate in case planning meetings.

All foster children in Oregon are covered by the Oregon Health Plan (OHP), which provides comprehensive medical, dental, and mental health coverage at no cost to the foster family.

What the Process Actually Takes

The Oregon certification process typically requires four to six months from initial inquiry to placement-ready status. The biggest delays come from background check processing times, scheduling conflicts in RAFT cohorts, and home study scheduling bottlenecks — not from eligibility issues. Most applicants who are transparent, organized, and responsive to their certifier move through the system without major delays.

If you want a structured checklist of every document, form, and safety item Oregon certifiers look for — including the region-specific inspection requirements — the Oregon Foster Care Licensing Guide walks through every phase in plain language, without the bureaucratic density of the official OAR rulebook.

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