How much money do you receive for fostering a child

How Much Do Foster Parents Get Paid? - UMFS | Virginia Foster Care | Residential Treatment

The decision to become a foster parent is one of the most impactful choices you’ll make to improve the life and well-being of a foster child or teen. The idea of giving new direction and purpose to another person’s life is powerful and fulfilling.

Although becoming a foster parent is extremely rewarding, there are some financial considerations that many potential foster parents are unaware of when deciding to foster a child or teen.

It’s important that foster parents in Virginia have all of the financial information to help them best provide for their foster child or teen, as well as their own family. All foster parents receive a tax-free monthly maintenance payment from the State of Virginia to cover the basic costs of caring for foster children.  The payment amount varies depending on the age of the child. If a child’s needs require additional daily supervision by Foster Parents, the Virginia Enhanced Maintenance Assessment tool (VEMAT) will be utilized to determine a rate of additional reimbursement payments to Foster Parents.

Here is a breakdown of the various areas of reimbursement for a Virginia foster parent.

Standard maintenance payments are afforded to parents to cover some of the basic costs associated with fostering in Virginia. The basic rates for standard maintenance range from $450 to $700 per month depending on the age of the child. Annual clothing allowance is also age-dependent and afforded to foster parents in the amount of $300 to $500 per year.

If a child’s needs require additional daily supervision, foster parents can request an evaluation of the need for enhanced maintenance payments as compensation for the extra time necessary to care for the child.

In many cases, the Virginia Enhanced Maintenance Assessment Tool (VEMAT) is used to decide the rate for any additional reimbursement payments to foster parents. Other assessment methods are also used to determine eligibility.

The VDSS administers a fund to cover major property damage done by children in foster homes. Information about your insurance coverage, along with multiple stages of approval, is required to be eligible for this contingency fund.

All foster children and teens, regardless of age, placement agency or your own financial status, are eligible for Medicaid.

If your foster child or teen is enrolled in a Virginia public school they are eligible for free school meals. The application process varies per school, but the program covers meals, both breakfast (where available) and lunch, offered at your school.

Respite care is a support service offered to foster parents that allow another provider to temporarily step in and provide care. Circumstances are not limited, but may include scenarios like…

• ensuring separately placed siblings have time together
• giving foster parents and their children a break when necessary
• sustaining children’s relationships with extended family
• enabling foster parents to go on vacation where the child is not legally permitted
• offering foster children and teens in group care with new experiences
• discovering potential placement changes

Additional services and supports are widely available to Virginia foster parents. However, reimbursement of such services is dependent upon the proper documentation indicating issues and challenges affecting the child. Documentation provided to your caseworker for review may include:

• journals tracking developmental/emotional growth
• clinical reports
• behavioral assessments

Fostering a child or teen is such a rewarding act because it is entirely voluntary. For this reason, it is recommended you be financially secure with your own family before deciding to become a foster parent.

Although financial support is available to foster parents, reimbursement will not meet all of the expenses that come with the responsibility of fostering a child.

UMFS has 8 locations throughout the state of Virginia, spread conveniently across the Commonwealth. If you are interested in learning what is involved to become a foster parent, we encourage you to send us an inquiry, or contact UMFS at any of these locations:

• Richmond
• Fredericksburg
• Alexandria-Northern Virginia
• Tidewater-Norfolk
• Farmville
• South Hill
• Lynchburg

How much do foster parents get paid in California – Knotts Family Agency

Although parenting is a full-time job, you cannot think of foster parenting as a way to cash out. If you’re in it for the money, then you’re fostering for the wrong reasons. Foster families don’t actually get “paid” for taking care of a child. They receive reimbursements for the money they spend taking care of the child’s needs. This money is not meant to be used to buy a new car or pay for your rent or some other expenses that don’t have anything to do with the immediate essential needs of the foster child.  Bear in mind that irrespective of the subsidy or financial assistance you receive, you will still be responsible for providing the essential items needed to adequately care for the child and the financial cost of that will be borne by you. If you’re planning on being approved and serving as a foster parent in California, you’ll probably still want to know how much reimbursement you can expect to receive to help offset some of the costs of raising your foster child. In this article, we answer some of the most common questions prospective foster parents have about much they can expect to get paid, how the amount is determined, and other incentives they might be given to help take some of the weight of raising a foster child off their shoulders.

• How much do foster parents get paid monthly per child: Depending on the county where you’re licensed as a foster parent, the reimbursement package ranges from $25 to $30 per day for each child. This amount increases if you’re fostering a child with additional needs.
• When do the payments start coming in: It usually takes a few weeks for the first payment to arrive, but that depends on the day the child was placed in your home. If you are with a Foster Family Agency (FFA), the counties generally send checks to the FFA around the initial 15 days of the month, so it could be that you have to wait a few weeks. Once the first payment arrives,  you can expect to get a paycheck once every month to cover the essential needs of the child(ren) in your home. 
• Take advantage of the cost-saving opportunities available to you: We know that bringing up a child today is an expensive affair. The state tries to soften the impact on your finances even further by giving valuable tax breaks to foster parents. There are also programs offering free stuff like clothing for foster children.

To qualify as a foster parent, you must have a stable and verifiable source of income which you can use to meet your family’s basic needs—food, shelter, and clothing. The reimbursements you get cannot be used as a primary source of income to cater to your family’s financial needs.

1. How much do foster parents get paid monthly per child?

The state of California pays foster parents an average of $1000 to $2,609 per month to help with the expenses from taking care of the child. It is one of the highest-paying states in the nation in this regard. This figure is for each child you take into your home. The highest rates correspond to children with additional needs, because they will require more attention, time, and tending to than other children. Know that you can’t just pocket the payments and take the child to the hospital or to visit other professionals that help with taking care of them. You need to be patient with children, shower them with more attention, listen and learn their needs, and basically find ways to care for them that wouldn’t complicate their situation even further. Children may have been severely neglected, suffered physical/sexual/emotional abuse, and may be carrying around complex emotional issues as a result of what they’ve been through. They may also have some condition—depression, anxiety, autism, or physical disablement—that prevents them from acting appropriately for their age or being able to respond normally to certain situations. Whatever their challenge is, you need to be understanding. Remember that you’re dealing with a person’s life. The child entrusted to your care will come to depend on you for so much, and you cannot afford to do wrong by them. It is also important to identify a foster family agency that is committed to providing you with the ongoing support needed. This will go a long way in ensuring that you are successful as a foster parent.   You need to constantly examine yourself, be open to learning new skills and training that will allow you to communicate better with your foster child, and be an incredible parent to them. Raising a child is a lot to undertake, but it’s one of the most fulfilling things you can do. Even if you decide to adopt your foster child, you’ll still be entitled to receive a small monthly payment to assist with the child’s upkeep. The amount of money you’ll receive will depend on the child’s age and personal needs. The amount you receive in reimbursement depends on the county you reside in or the foster family. In California, the state prescribes a minimum monthly payment, but agencies may provide higher than the minimum. Talk to a foster family agency to learn more about what your foster care reimbursement payments may be. Hopefully, this payment will help make foster care a little less stressful for you and your family.

2. When do the payments start coming in?

Every county or Foster Family Agency  has its own timeline for payments, which you’ll be informed of after your application is approved and you’re given the clearance to start fostering.   You will need to have some funds available while you wait at least one month before the payments are sent to you. Some counties are better at expediting payment than others, so the time for the first check to arrive may vary. Make sure you have money saved up to cover the childcare costs until the subsidy payments start coming in. In some cases, the county social worker may approve a one-time extra allowance for purchasing clothes for your foster child, but that also takes a while to arrive. So, be prepared to go shopping for clothes for your new ward out of your own pocket. But no need to go overboard with shopping.  Like we mentioned earlier, this payment is not meant to cover all of the child’s expenses, only the basic needs. This includes:

• Transportation
• Food
• Clothing
• Personal expenses

You won’t have to worry about medical bills because every foster child is covered under the state’s health insurance. Behavioral or mental health needs are also included under their insurance coverage.

3. Take advantage of the cost-saving opportunities available to you

The reimbursement payment you get is not the only financial aid that you can receive as a foster parent. There are a number of other options you can explore as well to help you cut costs such as a tax credit. Although foster children do not qualify for many of the same deductions and credits as biological or adopted children, they’re still eligible for a couple of tax breaks. For starters, the reimbursements you receive from the state are non-taxable so you don’t have to worry about it being cut down any further.  Check to see whether your county also provides childcare coverage so you can work while being a foster parent without having to carry the entire cost of childcare alone. This can help you save money that would have been spent on babysitting and other related expenses. There are programs that provide free clothing and gifts for foster children. Signing up for them is another great way to cut down on the costs of foster parenting. Additionally, if your foster child is an infant, toddler, or under the age of 5, they are probably eligible for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) special supplemental nutrition program, which is aimed at providing nutritious foods to supplement diets for women and children at nutritional risk. Don’t be ashamed about needing a little extra help to care for the foster child in your care. You’re doing the best that you can to see that they have a good life and that’s all that matters.

Conclusion

When you take into account the responsibilities that come with being a foster parent, the stipend, it becomes evident that the money received should not be the primary reason for deciding to be a foster parent. Just remember that financial gain is not an incentive to foster. You shouldn’t consider the reimbursement you receive as payment for doing your job because you’re not being paid for providing a service. The payment is to help cover the costs of caring for the child in your home. Your true reward is in being able to help a vulnerable child feel safe, supported, and loved. If after looking at the numbers above and understanding what exactly you’ll be signing up for and you’re still interested in becoming a foster parent in California, all you need to do is contact a reputable foster family agency and get started on your application. 

"How much do you earn?" What to answer if the child asks.

. If you want to raise a personality, a person for whom the topic of money will not be some kind of taboo, and who will be able to calmly discuss financial topics from early childhood, the answer is “It's none of your business!” or “it’s too early for you to know” is not good.

Nevertheless, to name a specific figure until a certain time (up to 12-13 years old according to the recommendations of child psychologists, which I have seen more than once in books, in studies, because I have studied this issue closely) may also not be the most correct option.

And the first thing to do is to understand why the child is asking this question and use this situation as a very important and powerful learning moment.

Ask the child “Why are you asking?”

This will give you time to think about your answer. It will also help you understand what is on the child's mind. Sometimes children just need to make sure that everything is in order in the family. This often happens when they witness money disputes or feel financial stress in the family. Depending on the response you receive, you may only be able to reveal the required piece of information.

Someone doesn't care and calls a number right away. I believe that such sensitive information should be revealed gradually as the child's psyche is ready to perceive it adequately.

By analogy, we do not disclose to children all the information about sex and the birth of children at once, we give it out gradually, as their psyche matures.

So it is with information about money. And I say this for a reason, but I study this issue from time to time, because I have two growing daughters.

Children, especially small ones, do not fully understand the value of money. It doesn't matter if you earn $1,000, $10,000, or $100,000 - for a child, this can be a huge amount that a child is not able to understand. Therefore, at an early age, instead of a number, you can answer something like “there is enough money to pay for food, clothes, housing, a car, etc.”, “we are not poorer than others, we live well, better than many people, but there are people richer than us.”

If you name a number, tell your child that this information should never go outside the family

The last thing you want is for your child to run around kindergarten or school and brag to other children that your family has a lot of money. Explain to him the very serious consequences of such behavior. Remember that children are recommended to name the number only after 12-13 years.

I would recommend explaining to your child that you are not richer than others, even if you are.

Again, it may not be necessary to disclose all of the information to , but this measure will save your child from feeling superior to others.

What information to disclose and when - in addition to age, it also depends on the level of trust gained by the child

fully reveal the numbers.