Does anyone here foster and what impact has it had on your finances?

redballoon_2 · 5 March 2007 at 6:29PM

I'm thinking of applying to be a foster parent, and have been thinking about it for a while (6 months ish)

We are not in a good financial postion at the moment due to hubby made redundant 6 months ago but now he is in employment and we are slowly getting things paid off. we have a £10k credit card bill and an overdraft of £1500. Hubby is selling his motorbike for £5,500 soon and our 2nd car for £1500 which will go towards the bills. We are lucky enough to have a small mortgage £400 per month, so we are roughly left with £800 per month to save once we have cleared our debts, which will take about 8 or so months.

Does anyone here currently foster and has it impacted on your financial position?

emma_b_4 · 5 March 2007 at 7:09PM

just wanted to say well done for wanting to foster!
do you have any children of your own?
sorry i do not know any of the finance side of things x

redballoon_2 · 5 March 2007 at 7:19PM

We dont have any children of our own as yet. We have been trying for a year and a half and I am currently having hospital investigations for my infertility.

fsdss · 5 March 2007 at 8:58PM

redballoon wrote:

We dont have any children of our own as yet. We have been trying for a year and a half and I am currently having hospital investigations for my infertility.

that might be a problem, although dont quote me on it!!!, ss usually want foster carers to have some sort of experience, and i know that when they do their home visits they ask you about fertility treament currently happening.

foster carers can be very rewarding and challenging with all sorts of problems to deal with, including emotional turmoil when a childs gets united back to their parents or adopted after you have spent months bonding and caring for them. private firms pay more than local authority and the rates vary depending on the age of the child, special needs / requirements.

hope this helps

Welshlassie · 5 March 2007 at 9:01PM

Hi redballoon

Fostering is something we have considered. My SIL works as social worker for an independent fostering agency. You will actually be paid to be a foster parent and it can ease the financial burden significantly, however if you are trying to have a family of your own you probably wouldn't be taken on as it could impact on your ability to foster children at this stage as it is very emotive subject having fertility investigations and treatment.

There are websites you can go to that explain the process for becoming foster parents which can be very long and intrusive. It would normally be better if one parent didn't work.

I hope I have been of some help, feel free to PM me if you want to ask any specific questions.

jo_b_2 · 5 March 2007 at 9:25PM

redballoon wrote:

I'm thinking of applying to be a foster parent, and have been thinking about it for a while (6 months ish)

Does anyone here currently foster and has it impacted on your financial position?

Hi redballoon

As other posters have advised, you will need to be assessed as a potential foster carer and there may be personal factors to consider.

That aside, national minimum fostering allowances are coming in from April 2007. http://www.fostering.org.uk/information/fostering_allowances.html

Obviously, the financial considerations are important but you'd also need to consider any emotional and practical arrangements, bearing in mind the age group of the child(ren) you'd be looking to foster etc.

You could also contact the national Fostering Network for more info and advice before you proceed any further. http://www.thefostering.net/

Good luck with the process. Feel free to pm me if you want any extra advice.

kit · 5 March 2007 at 9:49PM

redballoon wrote:

We dont have any children of our own as yet. We have been trying for a year and a half and I am currently having hospital investigations for my infertility.

I looked in to fostering..... they dont generally let you foster while you are trying for a child of your own or if you have a very young baby.

Its best to phone your local council / fostering department to check this out first.

thriftymiss_2 · 5 March 2007 at 10:08PM

If you cant do fostering have you thought about becoming a Supported Accomodator- this is generally for the 16plus kids who are coming out of foster homes and are not quite ready to live alone. In my neck of the woods (Kent) you go through a vetting process and infront of the fostering panel and when you are deemed suitable and get a young person it pays around £200 per week. You are expected to spend 2 hrs a day developing the young persons independancy skills (budgeting, responsibility, cooking, cleanliness, personal hygene, etc) . A little less demanding than fostering, not as well paid, but less time taken up ,and much more lfexible - speak to your social services department t find out if they are recruiting more Suported Accomodators in your area. The young person basicaly lives with you for as long as it takes for their support worker to believe you have developed their skills enough for them to live in their own place.

Over_the_Hill · 6 March 2007 at 12:10AM

We have been doing respite care for over a year and its very rewarding. We look after a child with disabilities, who is the same age as our youngest (7). Money Stuff - We are given a mileage allowance for collecting and returning child back home. Whether childs stays for 1 hour or 24 hours we are given £24 per day. It's a lot less than you would get for fostering but the money wasn't the reason we decided to do it. A friend recently decided to foster, didn't go through local council but did it through private company, she gets double the allowance a foster carer gets with the council. She also went through the vetting system a lot quicker than we did. So it might be worth checking out. We have the child every second Wednesday 3 pm to 6.30 pm and The every second weekend for an overnight stay. The money we get we put nto a separate bank account, so if we decide to go out for the day we use the money in that account. There are certain places you can visit that have a special rate for respite/foster carers, occasionally its free entrance. Would definitly recommend, our kids love it. Eldest 11, middle 9, youngest 7. Also might be worth checking the fostering network website

redballoon_2 · 6 March 2007 at 11:17AM

thanks all for your replys. i have look on my local authourity website and it says that you dont necessarily have to have children of your own in order to foster.

I have briefly read up on the website links that where posted as well, and I think that i have concluded that I will look into this again in the future when (hopefully) we will have a child of our own and I will be be a full time mum.

Thanks all for your advice.

Skye32 · 6 March 2007 at 2:55PM

Hi Redballoon

My husband and I have been foster carers now for five years. We have two sons of our own. We foster through a private agency. We really enjoy it although it can be very hard at times!:p

PM me if you want any more advice.

Does anyone here foster and what impact has it had on your finances?

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