Wake County Foster Care: How to Apply Through Wake County DSS

Wake County has the largest and fastest-growing population in North Carolina, and its child welfare system is under sustained pressure. Children in foster care in Wake County spend a median of two to two-and-a-half years in care — a duration that reflects the complexity of the cases the county handles and the limited supply of licensed foster homes in the area. Families in Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Garner, and surrounding communities who want to foster are stepping into real need.

Here is what applicants in Wake County specifically need to know.

Wake County DSS: Your Starting Point

Wake County Department of Social Services is the supervising agency for most residents in the county. The Wake County DSS Foster Care and Adoption office is reachable through the county's human services department, and information is available at wake.gov. You can also connect through the NC Kids Adoption and Foster Care Network at 877-625-4371.

Wake County also contracts with private licensed child-placing agencies that serve the area. Children's Home Society of NC and other statewide agencies operate in Wake County and sometimes run training cohorts on different schedules than county DSS sessions — worth asking about if the county's training timeline doesn't align with your schedule.

What Wake County's Caseload Looks Like

Wake County processes a high volume of cases. Its DSS caseworkers carry loads that regularly exceed national averages, and caseworker turnover in the state — including Wake County — runs above 30 percent annually in some periods. This affects response times, the pace of your application, and how quickly placements materialize after licensure.

The practical implication: the more organized and proactive you are with your documentation, the less your timeline will be affected by agency bandwidth. Submitting complete packets, keeping track of expiration dates on medical exams and TB tests, and following up consistently without being passive are all things within your control.

The Application Process in Wake County

Wake County follows the same process established by the NC DHHS under 10A NCAC 70E:

Online Orientation. Complete the mandatory NCDHHS orientation video and obtain your completion certificate before contacting Wake County DSS or a private agency.

Information Meeting. Wake County offers information sessions — some in-person at the DSS office, others increasingly held virtually — where you can ask questions specific to the county's current wait times, the types of children most in need, and support services available to foster families.

Application. Submit the DSS-5016 application with medical history forms, financial disclosure, and the Discipline Agreement. There is no fee.

Background Checks. All adults in the household undergo SBI, FBI, child abuse registry, and sex offender registry checks. Wake County residents use IdentoGO or a similar live-scan provider for FBI fingerprinting. FBI results typically take two to four weeks.

MAPP/GPS Training. Wake County runs MAPP/GPS training cohorts that meet weekly over 10 to 12 weeks for 30 total hours. In a large county like Wake, cohorts are generally more available than in rural counties — ask the DSS office about the current training calendar when you make your initial inquiry.

Home Study. A Wake County licensing social worker conducts the Mutual Home Assessment at your home, which includes interviews with all household members and a physical inspection. Wake County homes must meet all state standards under 10A NCAC 70E.1108, including mounted fire extinguishers, functioning smoke alarms in every sleeping area, and secured firearms.

Children Most in Need in Wake County

Wake County DSS recruits specifically for families willing to care for:

• Teenagers and older youth, who are the hardest to place in any county
• Sibling groups, where keeping brothers and sisters together requires homes with sufficient capacity
• Children with behavioral or emotional needs who benefit from a therapeutic placement

If you are open to one or more of these categories, mentioning it early in your process can result in faster placement after licensure.

Private Agency Options in Wake County

Applicants in Wake County can also choose to license through a private agency rather than county DSS. This can have advantages: private agencies often provide more intensive pre- and post-placement support, including 24/7 respite resources, ongoing training events, and family support specialists who respond faster than county caseworkers under high caseloads.

The tradeoff is that private agencies may have narrower placement criteria. Ask prospective agencies directly: What ages do you primarily serve? What types of placements do you make? How many families are you currently supporting in Wake County?

Supporting Birth Families: The Shared Parenting Expectation

Wake County, like all NC counties, operates under a reunification mandate. The court system in Wake County — the 10th Judicial District — holds regular permanency planning hearings and expects foster parents to actively support the child's connection to their biological family.

This means attending or facilitating visits, communicating respectfully with birth parents, and participating in case planning meetings. Foster parents in Wake County with professional backgrounds in healthcare, social work, or education often find this work aligns with skills they already have. For others, it is the steepest part of the learning curve.

For a complete walkthrough of what to expect at each stage of the Wake County foster care process — including how to prepare for the home study, how to handle the shared parenting requirement, and how to navigate the county's system effectively — the North Carolina Foster Care Licensing Guide is built around how the state's county-based system actually works for families in communities like yours.

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