Are Foster Parents Given Financial Support for Care of Child?

Foster parents provide much more for children who have been separated from their parents by the state. They also provide a warm, loving environment under which foster children can heal from abuse and neglect or simply the grief of separation. However, raising a child is an expensive endeavor. That's why states provide foster parents with financial support for each child in their care.

  1. Definition

    • Different states call the compensation given to foster parents different things. Some call it a stipend, or allowance, while others call it a board rate. And different states provide different levels of financial support. Generally though, compensation for taking care of a foster child is small, and only covers things like clothing, food and increases in your utility bills from extra water and electricity usage.

    Basics

    • Foster parents are paid on a monthly basis. Checks are issued by the state agency responsible for running the foster care program, such as the Department of Social Services (Mass.) or the Department of Children and Families (Fla.). Pay is based on how many foster children are in a home and how long they are staying there. States pay a daily rate per child. Stipends of somewhere around $400 per month per child are not unusual, and some states pay less.

    Extras

    • Many states also provide extra allowances for clothing and gifts before school starts and around the holidays. Additionally, foster parents are often given access to emergency clothing closets and gift certificates for foster children who arrive in their homes lacking adequate or sufficient clothing. Foster children may also be eligible for Woman, Infants and Children (WIC) assistance, even if their foster parents earn above the WIC eligibility limits, since the children are technically wards of the state and have no income of their own.

    Misconceptions

    • People sometimes think that becoming a foster parent is a way to do something good for children in need while also earning extra income. The truth is that usually, board rates barely cover the foster-child related expenses. In fact, a study by Children's Rights called "Hitting the MARC: Establishing Foster Care Minimum Adequate Rates for Children," found that states across the country would need to raise their board rates by about 36 percent to cover the true costs of supporting a foster child.

    Considerations

    • If, despite the financial disincentive of becoming a foster parent, you feel that this is a road worth embarking on, be prepared to show that you have the financial means to support your current family and don't need the stipend. Licensing agencies often also like to see that you could support a foster child without the stipend, since checks can get lost in the mail or be mistakenly withheld.

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