Foster Care

You must be an adult. 
Foster parents must be at least 18 years old. There is no upper age limit, as long as you are in reasonable health. CP&P will not preclude a person from being a foster parent based solely on their culture, religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, affectional orientation, or marital/civil union or domestic partnership status.

You must provide a safe environment for a child. 
Whether you own or rent, your home must meet basic life and safety standards. It doesn't matter if your home is an apartment or a house, as long as it is a safe place for children.

You will receive training. 
CP&P provides pre-service training so that you can help your child in care and work in partnership with other professionals. Ongoing training will help you be a successful foster parent.

Your entire household must be involved. 
Everyone in a home participates in nurturing a child. All the members of your household must agree to the commitment of providing foster care for a child.

You can make a commitment to a child who needs help. 
It's not always easy to be a foster parent. You must be willing to help a child through both good times and not-so-good times. You need to be counted on until the child returns to their family or a permanent home is found. This can take a few weeks or many months.

You can work as part of team. 
Foster parents are the most important members of a team dedicated to the safety and well-being of children in care. Being a foster parent means working as a team with social workers, the court, teachers, doctors, therapists, and possibly even the birth family of the children in your care.

 

Steps to Becoming a Foster Parent

The first step is to create a profile in our online foster care portal Binti . There, you will complete a short pre-application questionnaire. This is just a preliminary step to help us get to know more about you and connect you with your local DCF Resource Family Recruiter. There is no commitment required at this stage.   

 Within 5 business days, your local recruiter will review your information and reach out to schedule you for an orientation session (called a Group Engagement). At the Group Engagement, you will learn more information about our agency, the children we serve, the process to becoming a licensed caregiver, and available supports. 

You can also call 1-877 NJ FOSTER or email us at njfoster@dcf.nj.gov if you need help with submitting an inquiry through binti or have other questions.