Why Foster at 60+: What Older Foster Parents Bring to Kids in Care

About one in four licensed foster parents in the United States is over the age of 55, and that number has been growing every year since 2018. Children in care often arrive at a foster home after weeks or months of upheaval, and the steadiness an older adult brings to a household matters far more than physical energy. State child welfare data shared by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Casey Family Programs shows that placements with older foster parents tend to last longer, disrupt less often, and result in stronger long-term outcomes for the child.

The reasons line up with what licensed social workers see in home studies. Older adults often have raised children of their own, run a stable household for decades, paid off a mortgage, and stepped back from full-time work. That combination means the foster parent has time during the day for school meetings, therapy appointments, court hearings, and the constant phone calls that come with a case. Younger foster parents in two-earner households often struggle to attend the four to six monthly appointments a child in care usually needs. An older foster parent who is semi-retired or fully retired can show up to all of them.

There is also an emotional steadiness that matters. Kids who have been in three or four placements before yours arrive expecting another move. An older adult who has weathered loss, raised difficult teenagers, lived through marriages, divorces, and the deaths of parents, tends to react less to a child's testing behavior. The child throws a tantrum at hour six of being in your home. A 28-year-old new foster parent panics and calls the agency. A 64-year-old foster parent who raised three of their own kids sets down the spoon, says nothing, and goes back to cooking. That difference is the difference between a placement that lasts six days and one that lasts six years.

What older foster parents do need to plan for is the energy gap. A toddler who climbs furniture at 5 a.m. is harder at 67 than at 32. The solution is matching. Most agencies will let you specify an age range, a sibling group, or a child with specific needs. Older foster parents often do best with school-age kids, teenagers, or medically fragile infants who need calm, attentive care rather than someone who can sprint after them at the playground.

The federal Older Americans Act funds the Foster Grandparent volunteer program through Senior Corps, but that is a mentoring program for adults 55+, not licensed foster care. Licensed foster parenting is a separate state-licensed role under your state's Department of Children and Families (the name varies — DCFS, DCF, DHS, DSS, or CPS depending on the state). The two programs are often confused. This guide is about the licensed role, where you bring a child into your home and the state pays a monthly stipend to cover their care.

(Sources: Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Center; National Foster Parent Association annual demographics report 2025; Children's Bureau AFCARS Report 2024; Casey Family Programs research briefs on foster parent age and placement stability)