Fostering

sacha28

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

So, despite all the really informative comments you've had above, you just choose to ask about money again.

Are you sure you're doing this for the right reasons or do you simply see those children as 'cash cows'?

Tiddlywinks I think this is a little on the harsh side. I don't see the problem with trying to cover every base before committing to fostering, I'm sure Simon and his partner have discussed, at length, the emotional side of things and have begun to prepare themselves for all that fostering entails in that respect. However, finances need to be discussed as it is imperative that a foster child has a financially stable environment as well as an emotionally stable environment.

Could you imagine how it would go down in this scenario......'hello Simon we have a child that needs urgent respite care. The background is poverty and neglect. We will be coming over first thing in the morning with him'.......'Sorry Mr Social worker but I gave up my job to foster and, as I haven't had a placement for 2 months we are having a cash flow problem and I don't have any food. We will love him and make him feel secure and safe but he won't get a decent, balanced meal'

I think the reality of the matter is, however much you dislike the idea that money comes into fostering, every 'T' and every 'I' has to be crossed and dotted to ensure that it works for everyone and the environment is as stress-free as possible for the child, so 'speaking money' may not be ideal but it is practical.

shopaholicz

When you start really looking into it, you'll find that each IFA pays different rates, and also has different training schedules. When you've chosen one and you know what you'll be paid, you can then look into finances.

Lots of foster carers claim working tax credits as I said in previous post and declare their profit from fostering as an income.

Going back a couple of years one foster carer I knew claimed benefits, income support I think, and they didn't take any fostering income into account when working out her entitlement. Think benefits may have changed since then though.

Most foster carers work in pairs, with one of the pair working outside the home for that stable income and one getting the fostering income. Meaning if one person is getting the fostering income only they can use their tax allowance fully.

Personally, we have my oh at home full time and I work part time, then we get fostering income. We have space for 3 foster children, but usually have 1 or 2 at once. Have all 3 spaces full at the minute, but don't know how long that will continue.

We also get council tax benefit as they don't count income from fostering in their calculations. We don't claim any other benefits as I think my wage from part time work takes us above the base line.

Also, the fostering income is meant to provide a good life for a child that previously hasn't had one, so we spend loads more than we should on our foster placements, taking them places, going on extra holidays etc, and my part time income goes into the pot for this.

There is a really good book about fostering and benefits

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fostering-benefits-handbook-Adam-Smith/dp/1905664257/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412079367&sr=8-1&keywords=fostering+a+benefits+handbook only £6ish and lots of info

When you know how much you'll get paid, you could also look on entitledto.com

As for weeks/months you don't have any foster children in place, it's going to happen. Happens to everyone. We had 4 months recently with no placements. You have to be financially stable enough to just cope with this. We always have a bit put by incase, but you then have less mouths to feed anyway.

We think you're right to think of finances beforehand, leaving it too late to make any moves you need to do would be a mistake and add to your stress levels.

Work out how much you need every month to pay your bills, eat, holidays etc and then you can work out if you could afford to carry on doing this whilst fostering or if you'd need to make any changes.

Hope this helps.

Manchee

I don't think its wrong that the OP is asking about the money side of fostering, when they go through an assessment with their chosen IFA or LA they will have to show that they have taken all this into account and that they have back up plans in place incase of having a long period without any placements. But yes, as a previous poster said, the majority of our carers had partners who worked outside of fostering

honeypop

[simon] wrote: »

Me and my partner will be doing fostering together. However I may keep my part time job.

Curious to know why you may give your job up, would it need the both of you at home? All foster families I have known have one working partner.

Pricivius

Do you already live with your partner, as your other thread suggests not? From my limited experience, many foster organisations expect couples to have lived together for two years before they will consider them, although there may be some that will look at less time...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5073370

dickydonkin

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

So, despite all the really informative comments you've had above, you just choose to ask about money again.

Are you sure you're doing this for the right reasons or do you simply see those children as 'cash cows'?

Totally agree and you are not being harsh as suggested upthread - although I appreciate that potential foster parents need to consider the financial implications, surely this would be secondary to offering a child a safe and secure home.

Recently in our area, one of the councils were advertising on TV and radio for foster parents and a lot of emphasis (too much in my mind) was focused on the 'remuneration' offered which I believe was totally wrong.

If you are fostering for the financial 'reward' then in my mind, you are doing it for the wrong reason.

Fostering should not be deemed as 'employment' although I accept that a lot of work and effort is involved and I have great respect for those 'genuine' foster parents who take children into their home to offer love and security to (in many cases) children who have been dealt a bad hand in life.

shopaholicz

I do agree with what everyone has already said, love, security, stability are all things needed by foster children and you should only foster if it's the right choice for you.

But to cope with the stress of fostering as a foster carer you need to be free of stress yourself, financial or otherwise, so to look at finances prior to applying is thinking ahead and looking after yourself. You can't look after anyone else if you can't look after yourself first.

That's better than going through skills to foster training and then deciding that you can't financially afford it.

Listerbelle

The OP has also started an interesting thread here:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5073370

See in particular his comment here:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5073370 in which he demonstrates his unsuitability to be a foster carer

Slinky

"The kind of person i am:
Am not a people person, people out side / customers / my work place chat to me and to be fair am just not interested."


Yes I can see you're just the sort of person who is going to be good at fostering............not.

James_B.

[simon] wrote: »

What happends if / when I don't have any children in my care or if I have have a decrease in children in my care, how do I pay my rent / bills ?

Is that a serious question? You pay it from your wages, just like everyone else does. Your previous posts suggest that you aren't very likely to be able to hold down much of a job, but hopefully your wife can, so she can support the two of you.