Thanks for considering becoming a caregiver for the children in the Arkansas child welfare system. Your desire to share your love and your life as a foster or adoptive parent will create permanency for children intended to last a lifetime. At any time, please feel free to contact Arkansas DHS at 1-888-736-2820, or visit www.arkansas.gov.

Licensing Requirements for Foster or Adoption

It is a mutual learning experience between the Arkansas Department of Human Services/Department of Children and Family Services and you.

Remember: You don’t have to be perfect to be a perfect parent for children in care.

Adoptive parent requirements include:

• An applicant must be ages 21-55 years old.
• Applicants can be single or married. Married applicants must have been married for at least 2 years.
• An applicant must complete pre-service training.
• A criminal background check is required for anyone residing in the home who is ages 14 and above.
• A child abuse/neglect registry check is required for anyone residing in the home who is ages 10 and above.

Foster parent requirements include:

• Be at least 21 years old.
• An applicant can be single, married or divorced. Married applicants must have been married for at least two years. Divorced applicants must have been divorced for at least a year.
• Attend an orientation. For married applicants, both spouses must attend.
• Be financially stable and a responsible, mature adult.
• Agree to a home study, which includes visits with all household members.
• A criminal history background checks is required for all household members ages 14 and above.
• An abuse/neglect check is required for all household members who are ages 10 and above.
• A vehicle safety check is required for all adults who may assist in transporting foster children.
• 30 hours of pre-service training to learn about issues related to fostering abused and neglected children is required.
• Adequate sleeping space is required for the children. Each space must have windows to the outside and at least 50 square feet of sleep space per child.

For more information about licensing requirements or about the process to become a foster and/or adoptive parent, please contact us. We are Arkansas DHS, and you can contact us at 1-888-736-2820.

Does it Cost to Foster or Adopt?

For foster families: If you choose DHS as your agency, there is no fee to foster. If you choose a private agency, the private agencies are allowed to charge fees. Please ask the individual agency.

For adoptive families: If you choose DHS as your agency, there is no fee to adopt the child you have been fostering. If you choose a private agency, the private agencies are allowed to charge fees. Please ask the individual agency.

To find out if there are fees for adopting without fostering the child first, please ask the individual agency or DHS office that you choose to work with.

When families adopt children who are in foster care and eligible for subsidy, the families may be eligible for reimbursement of limited nonrecurring adoption-related costs, such as attorney’s fees and court fees, through the child’s state and/or federal options.

Questions? Please contact us. We are available at 1-888-736-2820.

Parent Support Groups

An introductory list of resources for parent support is available below.

River Valley Adoption Support Group

(501) 967-1641

Arkansas support groups & support resources

Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services

Agency Contact and Orientation Information

An introductory list of agencies is below.

View a list of Arkansas DHS Adoption Field Services Offices, by area.

Or contact:

Information on Children

In 2006, there were 937 Arkansas children in public foster care waiting to be adopted. There were many more Arkansas children in public foster care in need of foster families.

For more information about the children, you can see children photolisted at www.adoptuskids.org/Child/ChildSearch.aspx or you can contact us. We are available at 1-800-865-0225.

You can also contact the Child Welfare Information Gateway for information about Arkansas children in care.

Upcoming Events

View a calendar of Arkansas’ family events. For more suggestions, please contact us at 1-800-865-0225.