If you are thinking of becoming a foster carer, you will have many questions. One may be about fostering financial support and allowances.

As a foster carer, you are entitled to an allowance per child in your child but what does this cover?

Financial reward

There is no denying that foster carers welcome a child into their lives and homes, not for the financial reward, but all the other rewards that come with raising children. The laughter, the love and the pride at seeing them becoming happy adults, knowing the positive impact you have had.

But let’s be honest, taking on a child that is damaged by abuse, possibly stunted by the chaotic, neglectful start in life is a big ask. And as such, there needs to be some kind of financial reward.

You will spend hundreds, if not thousands of hours reassuring your foster child that life is not all bad, there are good people out there, they do matter, it is ok to feel the way that they do and that their past doesn’t define them.

Foster carers are special people. They bring commitment, energy and kindness to a child that may not have experienced a lot of this. But for many children in foster care, their needs are particularly great.

Therapeutic foster care

Helping a child to explore and accept who they are, to process the bad memories and to look forward without grief or guilt is a significant task. And to do it, foster carers need to be trained.

Therapeutic foster care is provided by a carer who understands the need to change the tone of voice, their choice of words and how they communicate with a child. It is a long-term process and not something that happens in a few weeks. It takes months, sometimes years for a child to understand that can let go of bad things in their past, and learn to look forward and enjoy good things.

Making a house a home

Foster carers do amazing things every day, from encouraging a child to attend school, make friends and understand what friendships and relationships are all about and so on. And they do all the ‘normal family stuff’ too.

They make sure that their foster child is clothed and fed, kept warm and safe. They ensure that they have the same opportunities open to them that other children have, such as books, games, technology and gadgets. They make sure there are presents under the Christmas tree for everyone and there are birthday surprises.

The list goes on. It is no less expensive to raise a foster child than it is to raise your own children and this is why there are packages of fostering financial support for every foster carer.

Payments cover the cost of everyday expenses of raising a child. Some local authorities and private fostering agencies also provide extra payments around Christmas and the child’s birthday.

For children with a specific set of needs, such as those who present more challenging behaviour, requiring specialist input and support, there are higher bands of payment. Better still, you may pay no tax (or very little) on foster allowances and your benefits may be unaffected.

A career, a calling and a vocation

Foster care is all of these things. It is a career – foster carers can be highly trained specialists – it is a calling, a means of satisfying a need to put something back into life and it is a vocation, a path in life that many are drawn to.

There is fostering financial support in the shape of a monthly allowance per foster child in your care, a welcome resource that helps you provide the best for the child in your care.

Find out more about fostering allowances, how it affects tax and benefits by contacting Fostering People.

*Collaborative post