HOW CRIMINAL HISTORY AFFECTS FOSTER & ADOPTION ELIGIBILITY

Fingerprint card and handcuffs

What Prospective Foster Care and Foster-to-Adopt Parents Need to Know About Their Eligibility in Virginia

If you're thinking about adopting a child through foster care in Virginia, you're already on a powerful path. You are on your way toward making a lasting difference in a child's life. But did you know that before you can adopt a child from foster care, you must first become an approved and licensed foster parent?

As part of this process, the state looks closely at your background, including any criminal history. This detailed review helps ensure that DSS and child-placing agencies find children safe and supportive homes. If you or someone in your home has a criminal record, learn how it may affect your ability to foster or adopt a child.

Let’s walk through what you need to know and how you may be able to become a forever family.

Why Criminal History Matters

Find Out if You Have Legal Barriers to Becoming a Foster-to-Adopt Parent

Lawmakers designed the child welfare laws to protect children’s safety and well-being. That’s why all adults applying to become foster parents must go through background checks and complete the Home Study process. These steps help determine whether a home is safe, loving, and stable.

Violent criminal offenses and convictions for hurting a child will disqualify you from fostering or adopting a child. However, not all criminal history means you can’t become a foster or adoptive parent. In some cases, people with a record may still be eligible after showing they’ve made positive life changes.

What Virginia Looks For

As part of the foster care and foster-to-adopt approval process, you’ll go through:

  • Criminal background checks (state and federal)
  • Child abuse and neglect registry checks
  • Home Study and family member interviews
  • Reference checks

Certain criminal convictions—like child abuse, domestic violence, or violent crimes—can automatically disqualify someone. However, if your record has non-violent offenses or old charges, the state may still consider you. It all depends on what happened, how long ago it occurred, and what you’ve done since.

Background Checks and Screening in Virginia

When you apply to become a foster parent in Virginia, you’ll go through a thorough background check and screening process. This important step ensures that social workers place children in safe, stable, and supportive homes.

As part of the process, the state will review:

  • Criminal history – including both serious and minor offenses
  • Employment history
  • Financial stability
  • References from people who know you well

Even past mistakes may be considered, especially if they raise concerns about a child’s safety or well-being. That said, a record doesn’t always mean you will be disqualified. The context, time passed, and personal growth all matter.

The goal of this process isn’t to judge your past but to ensure you’re ready and able to provide a loving home. These checks help ensure that children find caring, responsible adults who are prepared to support and love them.

Can You Still Foster or Adopt with a Criminal Record?

When to Apply For a Waiver or Exception

In many cases, yes, you can still adopt a foster child if you have moved beyond certain criminal backgrounds.

If your record includes older or less serious charges, you may still qualify to become a foster parent. Virginia allows some applicants to apply for a waiver or exception, depending on the offense. You’ll need to show evidence of progress and change in your life. Examples may include:

  • Completing counseling, therapy, or treatment programs
  • Staying out of legal trouble for several years
  • Positive character references
  • Stable employment and housing
  • A commitment to parenting and personal growth

You might also talk to a licensing specialist or agency representative. They can help explain the process and what you need.

Support Services for Foster-to-Adopt Families

You aren't alone if you’re working to overcome your personal criminal history and pursuing foster-to-adoption. Virginia offers support resources, such as therapy, mentoring, and guidance, to help new families succeed. Consider resources including:

  • Training and education - To prepare you for parenting a child with trauma
  • Post-adoption support - Including counseling, case management, and Respite care
  • Access to local support groups and mentors - Experienced foster and adoptive parents on a similar parenting journey
  • Ongoing supervision and guidance from your child-placing agency - Your guide, partner, information source, and crisis support throughout your parenting journey

Even if you’ve made mistakes in the past, what matters most is providing a safe, stable, and loving home for a child.

Educational Requirements and Foster Parent Training

In Virginia, all prospective foster parents must complete the required 40 foster parent training hours and pass background checks. This training helps prepare you for the realities of foster care and adoption. Foster-to-adopt parents must be ready to help kids who have experienced trauma, loss, or difficult life events.

Training programs cover topics such as:

  • Child development and behavior
  • Trauma-informed parenting
  • Managing challenging situations
  • Supporting emotional and mental health
  • Building healthy family relationships

If you have a criminal history, your training experience may include additional screenings or discussions. Every step is to help ensure you’re ready and equipped for the responsibilities of foster-to-adoption parenting.

The goal of this training isn’t to test you—it’s to set you up for success. You’ll gain knowledge, tools, and support to help you create a safe, loving, and stable home.

Keep learning and growing to better support the children in your care. You can be an exceptional adoptive parent.

Ongoing Monitoring and Supervision

After you receive approval and licensing as a foster parent in Virginia, your child specialist will stay close. They'll do regular check-ins and home visits, spending time with you and your child. Social workers will visit your home, talk with you and the children, and make sure everything is going smoothly. These visits aim to offer support, ensure the child’s well-being, and help you follow all foster care guidelines.

Monitoring is not about catching mistakes—it’s about partnering with you. Your social worker is there to help identify any needs, answer questions, and guide you through challenges. If any concerns arise, they’ll work with you to address them quickly. Your goal and theirs is to ensure your home and family remain a safe and supportive place for your foster child.

These visits also give you a chance to share updates, ask for help, and build a strong relationship with your agency team. Remember, you’re not alone—your social worker is there to support you and your family every step of the way.

Building Trust and Talking Openly

Kids in foster care may ask questions about your past. This doesn’t mean you have to share everything, but being honest in an age-appropriate way helps build trust. If you've overcome hard times, your experience might even help a child feel more understood.

Creating a loving environment is important. Children must feel safe and supported, no matter their background or yours.

Facing Stigma and Finding Community

If you’re worried about how others might view your past, you’re not alone. Many foster and adoptive parents have overcome obstacles. The key is to stay focused on your purpose: giving a child a loving home. Support networks, local agencies, and other foster parents can offer encouragement and community.

Children and youth in foster care also face social stigma from the moment they enter foster care and the child welfare system. Even children in Kinship care often face unfair judgment from others. Children separated from their birth parents and moved to a foster home need support and understanding, not bias. Each one will either return home to their birth family or become eligible for adoption with a new family.

No one is perfect. You are working to improve yourself and overcome your criminal history. What matters most is your dedication to helping a child feel safe, accepted, and part of a forever family.

Advocacy and Support Networks

If you have a criminal history and want to adopt a foster child in Virginia, you are not alone. Remember, too, that you’re not without support. Many future and current foster parents face challenges. They find strength through advocacy groups, peer support networks, and community organizations.

These groups provide support, resources, and guidance during the foster care licensing process and after your adoption. They help you understand your rights, share helpful strategies, and connect you with others who have walked a similar path.

Support networks also create a sense of community—foster and adoptive parents helping other foster and adoptive parents. Families and advocates can work together to overcome challenges. They can create positive change and improve the foster-to-adoption experience for children and caregivers.

Whether you are starting your journey or have support questions, these networks are here to help you. Reaching out shows strength and builds a better future for children in care.

Don't Give Up on Your Dream of Becoming a Foster-to-Adopt Family

If you wish to foster-to-adopt in Virginia and have a criminal history, don’t give up before you begin. Learn about the requirements, talk with a licensing specialist, and determine if you may qualify for a waiver. Virginia's foster care system may determine you're eligible to receive a foster care placement on your way to adoption.

Becoming a foster parent and providing home care for your child is the first step toward adoption. Plenty of parents before you took the first step toward learning about adoption or foster care eligibility. With the right guidance and support, your past doesn’t have to define your future or that of your future child.

Ready to Take the First Step to Adopting a Foster Child?

Contact a foster and adoption agency to ask questions, start your application, and learn how to begin your journey. In a matter of months, you just might become a forever family for a child.