ir esa can partner foster part time

tripp_989

hi can someone advice i claim ir esa and council tax benefit and i am bed ridden most days my partner is my carer but we in the the process of getting help from social service for the direct payment scheme

i was wondering if he was to foster part time would this affect are benefits? would we lose money? as we are just about surviving by watching every penny


thanks friends

G51shopaholic

Your on Income Related ESA so if your partner was paid to Foster then your income would go up and your benefits will go down.

What do you mean by part-time fostering? You would have the child in your home 24/7

McKneff

what do you define as part time.

soolin

I would also ask you to think this through with regard to your health.

Children being fostered often need a lot of care and attention due to poor experiences in parenting previously, or due to trauma and this will put a lot of strain on the household and may impact on the time your partner has to care for you. You may need to really consider whether it is fair on you or the child to offer them a home, even on a temporary basis.

tripp_989

it was mentioned in brief that we should consider part time foster if their parents need 2 days aweek break we could foster but would this affect our benefits ?

the other question i have for my peers on here could my partner go back to college and would we have to pay for it thanks sorry for all these questions

DX2

tripp_989 wrote: »

it was mentioned in brief that we should consider part time foster if their parents need 2 days aweek break we could foster but would this affect our benefits ?

Yip any fostering allowance you will get will affect any benefits you get.

skipsmum

I know things vary in different counties, but here part-time fostering is called respite care. Its very demanding (theres a reason parents need a break) and it does affect benefits. Looked after children can cost a lot - when we offered respite care we had particular children who would come again and again with no clothes, regular nits, and wierd food habits. Those kids who were looked after well at home were very time-demanding (medical needs or far too much energy). You can't get into a routine because they come and go. It was a full time job for both DH and I. In fact full time fostering is definitely easier.

Alikay

I'm a foster carer and as skipsmum says, respite care can be demanding and it's not always just a couple of days either: We can't always take our foster children away due to court conditions, so if we want a holiday with our own children, to visit family or go to a wedding, for example, we'd book them into respite care. Also if a regular foster carer is very ill or has a family crisis we need respite. We can't simply muddle through with a mixture of friends, family and neighbours like we would with our own children - everyone needs to be vetted and au fait with Safe Caring practices with a foster child.

Basically, my respite carers are my rock and need to be just as committed and geared up as full-time carers. They tend to support a few families and often they work virtually full-time anyway, they just have a series of different children to care for.

Cash-wise, bog-standard fostering (as opposed to the more challenging cases which attract a fee) is classed as an allowance rather than a taxable salary, but still needs to be declared to benefits agencies, so it could affect your income.

megc_2

Hi,
I'm a social worker in a fostering team, who assesses and supports foster carers. So I can probably give you some useful information here.
Firstly, if you are a couple you would both be assessed as foster carers, although your partner could be nominated as the main carer (ie the one who would be availale during the day if needed to collect a sick child from school, attend meetings etc).
However, on the basis of the information you give in your post, your health would pose serious questions about the ability of both of you to provide the level of care a looked after child would need. You would both be expected to attend for a medical with your own GP which would then be reviewed by the medical adviser to the fostering panel, who would make the final recommendation about whether you were medically fit to foster or not.
As your partner is also your carer and you are housebound, how would you and your partner cope with the extra demands placed on you by a looked after child (who often have extremely challenging behaviour/ emotional problems)? There might be times when he could not do both and the child would have to come before your needs.
Regarding respite care, there may be times when you would not have a child in placement with you too, at which times you would not be paid. Respite caring is not a financially stable prospect and you might find your benefits were affected badly as a result (DWP doesn't always cope well with stop/start claims). Few fostering agencies pay a retainer for carers who don't have a child in placement, and almost never to respite carers.
I do hope this helps. If you want to speak to somebody in more detail about your own personal circumstances, give your local council a ring- they will discuss the likelihood of you being accepted and answer any questions you have.

Dainty1976

At the risk of being inflammatory...

I this is just a money making excercise? I suggest you think long and hard about the other side of things ie: the child.

As someone who has been part of the care system myself (so I speak from personal experience), I can tell you that children pick up on this as it can be quite clear that money is the motivation. The child if problemsom (which is highly likely due to the nature of the arrangement) they can quickly become a "burden" to have, which also shows. If you cannot give both the emotional support as well as physical support and time that these kids need, the novelty may fast wear off, leading all involved to become dragged down by the experience.

I also have a couple of in-laws who foster, quite clearly for the monetary benefits and the kids definitely do suffer and all I ever hear from the in-laws is what a hassle and trouble the kids are. On the other hand, I have other friends who foster (respite) and they truly enjoy it although it requires a concerted whole family effort. They have had to buy stocks of clothes, toys and other things to occupy the children and will take the children on days out, spend time doing homework, or take them to therapy appointments/doctors - lots of running around. As much as they enjoy doing it, it is both physically and emotionally tiring for them.

I am not suggesting this is the case with you but if money is tight, I hear of a lot of people who consider this option as a quick fix. It is far from this and the effects of the respite/foster care DO have an effect on the child for the rest of their lives, believe me! ........Money comes and goes but memories last forever!!!