BATON ROUGE, LA – The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) officially launched HomeReady, an online platform designed to make it safer, clearer, and easier for Louisiana families to become certified kinship and foster caregivers.
HomeReady gives prospective caregivers a single, user-friendly system to complete applications, access required training, upload documents, and track their progress. By improving these early steps in the caregiver journey, HomeReady helps ensure that children entering foster care can be connected to the best, safe, stable home for them without unnecessary delays. The platform also supports DCFS staff by reducing paperwork and simplifying the information needed to verify and guide families, allowing workers to stay focused on supporting caregivers.
HomeReady Key Features
HomeReady helps families complete caregiver applications entirely online through the caregiver portal. The platform allows families to:
- Complete forms using a computer or mobile device
- Upload required documents by taking a photo with their phone and attaching it to their application
- Access and update their requirements
- Track their progress on any device at any time.
“HomeReady strengthens child safety by giving prospective kinship and foster families a clearer path to certification and giving our staff better tools to support them. Our focus is simple: every child deserves a safe, stable home. HomeReady helps us bring more families forward and ensures children can be connected to the right home as quickly as possible,” said Rebecca Harris, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services.
HomeReady supports A Home for Every Child, an Administration for Children and Families (ACF) initiative designed to expand family‑based care and increase the number of certified foster homes. Central to this mission is achieving a one‑to‑one ratio of foster children to certified foster homes for children in need of care, so that every child can be matched with a family prepared to meet their needs. By making the certification process more accessible and transparent, HomeReady is a key step toward building a strong baseline of certified foster homes required to reach that goal.
The HomeReady platform is powered by technology provided by Binti, a national child welfare software company that supports agencies in streamlining caregiver certification and reducing administrative burden.
HomeReady is a key program as DCFS expands the support available to kinship and foster families. Together with initiatives across the child welfare system, HomeReady reflects Louisiana’s commitment to ensuring children can grow up in safe homes with families ready to care for them.
The online platform officially launched Wednesday morning, October 7,click here.
To learn more about fostering or adopting in general, click here.
- Watch a video by Binti explaining how HomeReady works.
- Read answers to the frequently asked questions about HomeReady.
- View the HomeReady Overview flyer.