Private Foster Care Agencies in Colorado: How to Choose a Child Placement Agency

When Colorado residents start researching how to become a foster parent, they often discover that there are two completely different paths to the same license: working through their county Department of Human Services, or working through a private Child Placement Agency (CPA). Both paths lead to the same state-issued certification and the same legal standing to care for foster children. The differences are in the experience of getting there and the support you receive afterward.

For many families, the choice of agency turns out to be one of the most consequential decisions in the entire foster care journey — more important than most people realize when they are just starting out.

What a Child Placement Agency Is

A Child Placement Agency is a private organization that has been licensed by the Colorado Department of Human Services to perform the same foster care licensing functions as a county DHS office. This means a CPA can recruit, train, evaluate, certify, and supervise foster families — and it can place children from any of Colorado's 64 counties into homes it has certified.

That last point is the key distinction from county licensing. When you are licensed through your county DHS, you are generally connected to the placement pipeline for children in that county's custody. When you are licensed through a CPA, your home is part of a statewide network, and placement referrals can come from anywhere in Colorado. This matters if you want to maximize your chances of receiving a placement quickly or if you have specific preferences about the type of child you are prepared to care for.

CPAs must meet all the same regulatory standards under 12 CCR 2509-8 as county offices. The training, background checks, and SAFE home study process are the same. What varies is the "wraparound" — the support, resources, and guidance the agency provides beyond the minimum requirements.

What to Look For in a Colorado CPA

Not all Child Placement Agencies are alike. Choosing the right one involves asking a specific set of questions during the orientation phase, before you sign on with anyone.

Specialization and placement focus. Some CPAs focus on therapeutic or treatment-level placements. Others specialize in infant and toddler care, in LGBTQ-affirming placements, in families with a specific faith background, or in sibling groups. Ask the agency what the majority of their current placements look like — this gives you a realistic picture of whether your household is a good fit for their typical referrals.

Geographic reach. All Colorado-licensed CPAs can technically serve the entire state, but in practice most have stronger relationships and more active referral pipelines in certain regions. An agency based in the Pikes Peak area will have deeper relationships with El Paso County DHS than with Larimer County. This matters because placement referrals often come through relationships between the CPA's case managers and county placement coordinators.

Support infrastructure. The most significant advantage a CPA can offer over county licensing is active, personalized support. This includes: dedicated case managers who respond within hours rather than days, 24-hour crisis lines for when a placement goes into acute difficulty at midnight, access to respite care networks, support groups for current foster families, and in some cases, material support like clothing closets or emergency supply programs. Ask specific questions about how available your case manager will be and what happens when you need help outside business hours.

Training quality. The required 27 hours of pre-service training can be delivered as a routine compliance exercise or as genuinely useful preparation. Ask the agency how their training is structured, who delivers it, and whether current foster families speak positively about it.

Licensed Child Placement Agencies in Colorado

Colorado's CDHS maintains a directory of all licensed CPAs. The following agencies are among the most established serving Colorado foster families:

Hope & Home — Based in Colorado Springs with strong coverage across the Pikes Peak region and the Front Range. Hope & Home is known for providing intensive support to foster families, including dedicated care coordinators and training resources. They serve families across faith backgrounds and are open to LGBTQ applicants. hopeandhome.org.

Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains — A statewide agency with long-standing roots in Colorado's child welfare community. Lutheran Family Services handles both foster care and adoption, and is not restricted to Lutheran or religious applicants despite its name. Strong track record of therapeutic and specialized placements. Contact: (303) 922-3433.

Bethany Christian Services — Serves the Front Range with a faith-oriented focus. Bethany has experience with a range of placement types and has expanded its services to include LGBTQ-welcoming placements in the Colorado market in recent years. Contact: (303) 903-7486.

Clarvida — A larger national organization with a significant Colorado presence, particularly on the Front Range. Clarvida handles therapeutic and treatment-level placements and has clinical support staff embedded in their care teams. clarvida.com.

Adoption Options — Statewide agency focused on both foster care and adoption, with a track record in infant and domestic adoption in addition to foster care. Contact: (303) 695-1601.

Ariel Clinical Services — Serves the Western Slope and Front Range. A good option for families in Grand Junction or other western Colorado communities who want CPA support without driving to Denver. Contact: (970) 245-1616.

Kids Crossing — Serves the Pikes Peak and Pueblo areas. Smaller agency with close community ties in southern Colorado. kidscrossing.com.

How to Evaluate an Agency Before You Commit

The orientation meeting is your most valuable tool. Every CPA is required to hold an informational meeting before beginning the application process, and this meeting is no-commitment — it is designed for you to ask questions, not to sign anything.

Come prepared with specific questions:

• What does a typical week look like for your current foster families?
• What is your average response time when a foster parent calls with an urgent issue?
• How many foster children does each of your case managers carry?
• What is your typical timeline from orientation to first placement?
• Can you connect me with a current foster family in our area who would be willing to speak with us?

That last question is particularly useful. A CPA that cannot or will not connect you with current families is one worth being cautious about. An agency that is proud of its community will welcome the conversation.

Faith-Based vs. Secular Agencies

Colorado has both faith-affiliated agencies and fully secular ones. There is no state requirement that you work with a faith-based agency, and faith-based agencies are not permitted to discriminate against applicants based on religion (or sexual orientation) in their licensing functions.

In practice, many families find that alignment with an agency's culture matters as much as any specific service offering. Families in the Colorado Springs faith community often find a natural fit with agencies that have a similar orientation. Denver metro families who are secular or LGBTQ often find Hope & Home or Lutheran Family Services a more comfortable match. Neither is right or wrong — the fit just matters.

The Decision Framework

The choice between county licensing and a private CPA, and the choice among CPAs if you go that route, should be based on three factors: the population you are hoping to serve, the level of support you want, and the geographic area you are in.

If you want placements from a single county and prefer a direct relationship with the county office, county licensing may be the right fit. If you want statewide reach, specialized training, and active agency support, a CPA is likely worth the additional step of finding the right one.

The Colorado Foster Care Licensing Guide walks through this decision in detail, with a comparison of the county and CPA pathways, a framework for evaluating specific agencies, and an overview of the questions to ask before you commit to a licensing route.

Your agency relationship will last as long as your foster care license. Taking the time to choose well at the beginning pays dividends throughout the entire process.

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