Financial Allowances
All carers are paid an allowance to cover the day-to-day expenses of caring for the child including food, heating, accommodation and travel. The Fostering Network recommends rates ranging from £103.67 to £220.08 per week.
There may be various other allowances that foster carers can claim (what extra allowances are offered will depend on the agency and the descriptions for them may vary).
Most of the extra allowances are not taxable and will not affect any entitlement to other benefits or your National Insurance status. But extra payments for specialist fostering schemes may have an element of reward built in which will affect benefits and National Insurance and attract income tax. If in doubt, check with the social worker assigned to support you. Extra allowances may include:
This is extra money to buy items of clothing for the child. Older children may have a greater say in how the money is spent and may sometimes have sole responsibility for it. Most agencies will provide extra money to cover the cost of the child's birthday. The money is to pay for presents, the cost of a party or towards any special. The amount is often equivalent to one week's foster allowance. This money not only covers the cost of holidays the child takes with you but also school trips or extra expenditure incurred during the school holidays. This allowance may be a standard automatic payment or you may need to request a specific payment. But carers should not assume an agency will cover the cost of an expensive holiday. It is always better to check before spending money on a holiday for the child. Many local authorities now run schemes where foster carers are expected to become more professionally involved in looking after a child or care for children with who have greater needs. For this extra responsibility, they are paid a higher allowance.
Schemes such as these may involve caring for young offenders or teenage mothers or severely disabled children. The payments vary according to the authority, the scheme and the child. Most agencies pay a set figure when a child requires a new school uniform and some will pay an allowance to buy work clothes if a teenager in foster care gets a job. Most departments and agencies recognise that there are extra expenses when the child is first placed with them. They either pay a set figure or reimburse you for the expenditure you actually incur. Most of the child's day-to-day travelling expenses are covered by the basic foster allowance but you may be able to claim extra money to pay for the cost of, for example, a hospital appointment or family contact visit.
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