All our foster carers receive a maintenance allowance to cover the daily costs of caring for a child. They also receive an allowance for training and a professional fee for each child placed in their care.
| Age | Fostering maintenance allowance |
Training allowance |
Professional reward fee |
Total for professional careers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | £162 | £75.17 | £141.73 | £378.90 |
| 5-10 | £181 | £67.22 | £141.73 | £389.95 |
| 11-15 | £206 | £103.54 | £141.73 | £451.27 |
| 16-17 | £240 | £101.28 | £141.73 | £483.01 |
The maintenance allowance is paid to all carers and covers the costs of caring for a child including food, clothing, transport, pocket money, hobbies and savings.
The training and placement allowance is paid to those carers who complete their own training, support and development portfolio to a high standard and have shown commitment to attend:
A placement retainer fee of £141.73 is paid for professional foster carers for 12 weeks if there is no child in placement. This payment is only available for professional foster carers who are available to foster a wide range of children. This is a payment for your services as a foster carer and if you are available for a child. Foster carers also get a payment for:
You may be caring for a child who is subject to a Care Order, meaning you become a foster carer even if the child is known to you and may be related to you. Friends and family foster carers receive special advice and support from a dedicated Permanence team and can attend the same training as other foster carers. The Permanence team will also help you to plan ahead for permanent arrangements for the child.