Foster Care

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

I think there's a national minimum for allowances, but then the councils can add to that as they see fit.

Check to see what your entitlements are. If the child turned up in only the clothes they were wearing, you should be entitled to claim a one off clothing allowance.

Fostering allowances for Bedfordshire are dependent on the age of the child. The older they are the more money you get. The bottom allowance in Bedfordshire is somewhere around £500/month and we get paid fortnightly.

Obviously you'd need to check the allowances that your own council provide.

purple12

Thanks again! We're with Haringey so I'm not expecting overly generous allowances - of course, not that I begrudge a penny but my expectations are definitely at the lower end of the scale...

Odette

My mother and father have fostered children since I was six years old, thats 17 years. They have won awards from the council and are constantly praised, and often my mother leads courses in fostering. Its been good and bad for me, its ultimately rewarding of course for my parents. But there is very little support for the actual children of foster carers, especially when they are placed along violent and abusive and behaviourally demanding children (although of course this is no fault of their own or my parents). Though when anyone mentions fostering, I always hope that they do not raise their own children alongside the particularly 'tough' cases as I have had more than a few bad experiences.

Rant over. Basically social services, like any council dept. are understaffed and over worked. I dont know if youve kept a diary but do, I cannot advise this enough. Write down any behavior that either concerns you or you think shows the positive development of the child(Ren) in your care. Remember times and dates etc. And show your link/social worker. Be as open as possible. Remember that if you are not coping, giving up is not the only answer and respite care is always available. But you sound like your doing fine!

jo1967

dumb_blonde wrote: »

can u request that you only want babies,sounds daft but then surely they can stay in your room and you dont need a spare?

Yes you can! My sister is a foster carer & specified babies only, she has 3 kids of her own & babies suit her better. She just got a newborn, very sweet & looks like a stayer. So far we have had a 2 week old for 20 months & an 11 week old for 15 months.

You notice I say "we" when my sister & hubby are the carers - well whether you like it or not the rest of the family become involved & very attached to the children! My parents & myself & OH are all CRB checked so we can babysit. I admire her but its not something I could do.

jo1967

purple12 wrote: »

Thanks again! We're with Haringey so I'm not expecting overly generous allowances - of course, not that I begrudge a penny but my expectations are definitely at the lower end of the scale...

Badger your social worker, obviously different councils work in their own way but they should provide for your child if he came with nothing. When new baby came my sister requested a travel system as she no longer had one.

Good luck to you! Much admiration :T

gizmo111

Theres a forum here www.ukaff.org

The fostering allowances aren't overly generous but the tax credit system and housing and council tax benefit system is good for carers. The income you receive from fostering is counted as zero below £30K, and you are classed as working over 30 hours per week. Check out on www.entitledto.co.uk what you may be able to claim.

purple12

Thanks for all the info! Much appreciated. I hadn't really thought about the tax credits (although I'm sure that because of my salary we'd be above any allowances) but we should look into the NI contributions at least for my partner as he isn't working. I am still trying to track down our social worker - she seems to be remarkably elusive!
The real irony that I didn't mention earlier is that I am actually a social worker myself.. (in a completely different borough and different area of work!). I wonder if that makes me over-critical!