About Fostering Allowances
Your foster carer payment is important to ensure it covers the child’s or young person’s allowances, your reward element, and the overall support required.
How is the right carer payment level decided?
This is influenced by several areas, including:
- The age of the child or young person determines the level of their allowances. Allowances are Lower for young children and higher for older young persons.
- Type of the placement – this includes the following placement types:
- Mainstream
- Siblings
- Enhanced
- Complex
- Parent and child
- Staying put
- Any specific needs or additional costs for the child or young person, e.g., higher school transport costs, specialist dietary needs, or disabled needs.
Why does the placement type make a difference?
The overall placement type is important because it is based on the child’s or young person’s needs and support. Please see the summary below by placement type and how this influences the carer payment level.
| Placement Type | Consideration for Carer Payment |
|---|---|
| Mainstream | The needs of each child and young person will be challenging but not at the same level as enhanced or complex. This gives a lower overall reward element, and a higher level of specific support (e.g., therapeutic input) may not be required. |
| Siblings | When children are placed together, there can be savings— for example, on food costs, sharing transport, or other areas. This can lead to a lower carer payment, as many Local Authorities reduce funding for children when placed as siblings together. |
| Enhanced | Enhanced placements reflect higher needs for the child or young person, giving them the category “enhanced.” The local authority often defines this placement type based on specific needs. The overall support costs are higher, and placement can be more challenging. |
| Complex | Complex placements again reflect higher needs, like enhanced placements, but at a higher overall level. Again, the local authority will provide a placement definition and criteria. Funding will be higher to provide extra support, giving a higher carer payment. |
| Parent and Child | This is when the parent and child are placed together, and a parenting assessment is often undertaken. The payment is higher to cover the parent and child together. |
| Staying Put | Young people aged 18 will be entitled to benefits, and their status as being in foster care ends (unless extended or agreed upon beyond age 18). This ends the requirement for allowances as the young person is staying put. |
Please note that the references for the above placement types are used for commissioning frameworks and approval terms. At Sunbeam Fostering North West, we like to ensure each child or young person is supported as an individual and only use these terms for contractual terms and relevant documentation.
Additional payments are also relevant and payable by Sunbeam Fostering North West for:
- Birthday celebrations for the child or young person
- Religious events and celebrations
- One-off higher costs – for example, initial clothing if a child or young person has none when first placed
- Respite periods
- Loyalty for your continued hard work in being a foster carer
Please contact us to discuss your carer payment level and any questions!