When a child is placed in foster care, the cost of caring for them is paid to the foster carer in the form of an age-related fostering allowance. This will be calculated by each fostering service. It should also reflect the national minimum allowance calculated on the basis of the minimum amount that any foster carer needs to meet the cost of caring for a foster child.
More details on the national minimum allowance for fostering, introduced by the Department for Education, can be found here.
Many foster care services also pay a fee or ‘reward’ element on top of this allowance, in recognition of the work they do in caring for these children. There is currently no recommended amount for the reward element, and each fostering service will set this separately.
We have a range of advice and information to support foster carers with different aspects of fostering and finances:
Financial difficulties can cause stress and worry. Fosterline offer a free, professional counseling service for foster carers with a BACP accredited Psychotherapist & Counsellor, who is also a qualified senior Social Worker and Family Mediator. To find out more about the service, click here.
The following organisations can provide further financial advice and support:
