Philadelphia Foster Care — How to Navigate the CUA System and Get Licensed

You've decided you want to foster a child in Philadelphia. You call the number on the DHS website, navigate a phone tree, and end up with a packet of forms and a referral to something called a "Community Umbrella Agency." Nobody explains what a CUA is or why you're talking to them instead of DHS directly. That's the moment most people realize Philadelphia foster care doesn't work quite the way they expected.

Philadelphia runs one of the most distinctive child welfare systems in Pennsylvania — and understanding its structure isn't optional. If you try to navigate it the way you'd navigate foster care in Lancaster or Erie, you'll waste months going to the wrong agency, attending the wrong orientation, or waiting on a callback that never comes.

Why Philadelphia Uses a Different Model

Every county in Pennsylvania has its own Children and Youth Agency. In most counties, that CYA handles everything directly: recruitment, licensing, placement, case management. In Philadelphia, DHS made a strategic decision to decentralize. Rather than running a monolithic city agency, Philadelphia contracts with a network of nonprofit organizations called Community Umbrella Agencies — CUAs — and assigns each one a specific geographic neighborhood.

The idea is that a local nonprofit rooted in West Philadelphia understands the needs of West Philadelphia families better than a centralized bureaucracy could. Whether that holds true in every case is debatable, but the structure is real and it shapes everything about how you get licensed in the city.

There are currently 10 CUAs operating in Philadelphia. They include organizations like Resources for Human Development (RHD), Bethanna, and PHMC (Public Health Management Corporation), among others. Each handles a defined set of zip codes for foster family recruitment and case management.

This matters for you because your CUA is determined by where you live, not by which agency you prefer. You don't get to choose based on reputation or word of mouth.

How to Find Your CUA

The Philadelphia DHS publishes a CUA service area map that assigns zip codes to specific agencies. You can find it on the Philadelphia DHS website under the foster care section. Look up your zip code, note the corresponding CUA, and contact that organization directly.

If you live near a boundary, call the CUA listed and confirm they cover your address. Boundaries occasionally shift as caseloads change.

Some people find their assigned CUA has a backlog for orientation sessions. If this becomes a problem, ask DHS whether there's any flexibility — sometimes there is, particularly for applicants who are ready to move quickly.

What Your CUA Actually Does

Once you're connected to your CUA, that organization becomes your primary point of contact throughout the licensing process. They are responsible for:

• Holding pre-service orientation sessions where you learn the basics of the Philadelphia foster care system
• Scheduling and conducting your home study
• Coordinating your background clearances
• Providing training hours required for licensure
• Managing placements into your home once you're licensed
• Delivering ongoing support during placements

Your CUA caseworker is the person you'll call when you have questions, when a placement is coming, and when something goes wrong. The quality of your experience in Philadelphia foster care is heavily shaped by the responsiveness of your individual caseworker — and that varies significantly across CUAs and even within the same organization.

Training Requirements in Philadelphia

Pennsylvania's state minimum for annual in-service training is six hours under 55 Pa. Code § 3700.65. Philadelphia's CUAs commonly require up to 20 hours of annual training, reflecting the city's higher-acuity placement environment and specific policy priorities around trauma-informed care.

Pre-service training follows the TIPS-MAPP curriculum (Trauma Informed Partnering for Safety and Permanence — Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting) or the newer "Foundations" model. TIPS-MAPP is structured as a 10-session series, typically meeting weekly for about three hours per session. Over 10 weeks, the curriculum covers:

• The child welfare system from multiple perspectives, including birth family and child viewpoints
• Loss, grief, and attachment theory — the emotional core of the training
• Trauma-informed behavior management without corporal punishment
• Birth family relationships and supporting visitation
• Permanency planning, including concurrent planning concepts

This is not a passive information session. TIPS-MAPP is designed as a mutual assessment — the agency evaluates whether you're a good fit while you evaluate whether this is right for your family. Applicants who treat it as a box to check tend to find it frustrating; those who engage with it genuinely tend to find it useful.

Philadelphia DHS has been expanding use of the Foundations curriculum, developed by the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center at the University of Pittsburgh. Foundations incorporates simulation-based training with actors in role-play scenarios, so participants practice real conversations rather than just absorbing information.

Private CPA as an Alternative

If your assigned CUA isn't a good fit — long wait times, poor communication, or a mismatch in support style — you have another option. Private Child-Placing Agencies (CPAs) operate throughout Philadelphia and can license foster families independently of the CUA network.

Organizations like The Bair Foundation, KidsPeace, and Bethanna (which operates as both a CUA and private CPA) can license you directly. Working with a private CPA typically means:

• Smaller caseloads per caseworker, which often translates to more responsive support
• Specialized training for higher-needs placements, including therapeutic and medical foster care
• Higher per diem rates for specialized placements
• A somewhat different pool of children referred for placement

The trade-off is that private CPA placements tend to be more complex. These agencies often specialize in children with significant behavioral health needs or sibling groups that are harder to place. If you're interested in therapeutic foster care, a private CPA is likely your path.

To find licensed private CPAs operating in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania DHS maintains a searchable database of licensed foster family care agencies on their Keep Kids Safe website.

The Three Required Clearances

Before you can be licensed anywhere in Pennsylvania, every adult in your household must complete three background clearances. In Philadelphia, your CUA coordinates this process, but you initiate each one:

Act 34 — Criminal History (PATCH): Processed through the Pennsylvania State Police at epatch.pa.gov. Free for volunteer foster parent applicants. Results are typically available within days.

Act 33 — Child Abuse Clearance: Processed through the Pennsylvania DHS ChildLine portal. Also free for foster parent applicants. Results take one to two weeks.

Act 114 — FBI Fingerprint (IdentoGO): Required for all applicants regardless of how long they've lived in Pennsylvania. Costs $22–$27. Processing takes two to six weeks. This is the longest lead-time item — schedule it first.

The order in which you initiate these clearances matters. Start your FBI fingerprint appointment in the first week of deciding to move forward, and submit your Act 33 and Act 34 in that same week. Done correctly, all three results arrive within the same 30-day window, which keeps your application moving without delays.

Timeline Expectations

From first contact with your CUA to receiving your foster care license in Philadelphia, expect three to six months under typical conditions. The variables that most commonly extend this timeline:

• FBI fingerprint processing delays (backlogs spike at certain times of year and can push processing to six weeks or longer)
• Medical form completion delays (your physician needs to sign off on a physical, and getting that appointment scheduled takes time)
• Reference letter delays (your three personal references need to respond promptly)
• Home inspection re-visits when a safety item doesn't meet standards on the first walkthrough

The biggest factor within your control is submitting complete, accurate paperwork from the start.

What the Home Inspection Covers

Philadelphia CUAs conduct a room-by-room inspection before approving your license. Key requirements:

• Children of opposite sexes age five or older cannot share a bedroom
• Unfinished basements, garages, attics, and closets cannot be used as sleeping areas
• Smoke detectors required on every level of the home and in every sleeping area
• Fire extinguisher in the kitchen rated at minimum 2A:10BC
• Hot water heater set between 100°F and 120°F
• Medications, firearms, and hazardous materials locked and inaccessible to children
• Current rabies certificates and vet records for any household pets

A failed inspection means scheduling a follow-up visit, which adds weeks to your timeline. Walk through these items yourself before your caseworker arrives.

After Licensing

Once you're licensed, you're added to the pool of available homes. Philadelphia DHS and your CUA will begin referring children for placement based on your approved profile — the age range you're approved for, the number of children, and any specialized training you've completed.

Most placements in Philadelphia happen as emergency placements, meaning a child needs a home within 24 to 48 hours. Your CUA calls, provides basic information, and asks whether you can accept. You have the right to ask questions and to decline without losing your license, though repeatedly declining affects future referrals.

Philadelphia has consistent need for homes that can take sibling groups, teenagers, and children with behavioral health histories. Being open to these placements generally means a shorter wait between your licensing date and your first call.

If you're preparing to navigate Philadelphia's CUA system from the beginning, the Pennsylvania Foster Care Licensing Guide covers the full process — clearances, home study preparation, TIPS-MAPP, and what to expect after you're approved: /us/pennsylvania/foster-care/

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