Fostering Allowance & Adoption Pay confusion

[IncrediblyConfused]

I've researched what I can but am confused...

Situation is fostering to Adopt a baby. Can you receive the fostering allowance and the adoption pay or are they mutually exclusive? Can the adoption pay be postponed until the adoption is approved and receive the fostering allowance up until then?

Or is it different rules for different adoption agencies?

[researchbookworm]

I may be wrong but my understanding was that it changed fairly recently to be adoption leave pay from day one. I only think this because when we were first considering adoption we ruled out foster to adopt because we wouldn't have been able to cope financially on the foster allowance, but later I saw that it had changed to be in line with normal adoption leave and I thought at the time that it was a positive development and might enable more people to go down that route. I think this might have come in around April as there were a few other changes introduced to do with paid time off for adoption appointments that came in at the same time which we benefited from. Sorry for the slight vagueness - I hope this is semi useful anyway!

[researchbookworm]

It comes from the government - not individual agencies, so should be standard whoever you apply to adopt with...

[arielmanto]

Hi

We had the same query and I am 99% sure I have it right that you get your statutory adoption pay from the day child is placed as FtA, AND the fostering allowance for as long as it takes to get placement order.

but if that takes 6 months to get, at the end of that time you will go from a reasonable "wage" to nothing at all! it's so new it hasn't really been thought through yet...

[IncrediblyConfused]

Okay that does make sense.

Seems a bit odd that in effect the government is paying you twice through the FA and the stat element of the SA.

Thanks for your help

[MintyLizzy9]

Hi, no foster pay in this situation, adoption pay and leave start from the start of the foster placement. The fostering MUST be under the foster to adopt scheme though. I almost did this so researched the living heck out of it! I was told no set up costs would be helped with either. Basically in terms of leave from work and pay it is exactly the same as a straight forward adoption placement.

[arielmanto]

ah, this is interesting - I don't know if this varies from LA to LA? we have been firmly told by senior member of adoption team that we would get foster pay with fostering to adopt placement.
but then, maybe they have the wrong info - there were a lot of blank faces when we asked the question before anyone stepped forward to answer. argh! why can't it all be laid out simply?

[MintyLizzy9]

Mine knew nothing! I spoke to BAAF who were really helpful. It may depend from la to la as its their budget I suppose! It's a blooming mine field

[arielmanto]

I find it infuriating that they don't know.. I realise it changes quite often but I do think they should know what they're talking about. mintylizzy I just did some reading on the government website and there is definitely a published set of guidelines saying what you said - that you DON'T get fostering allowance, just normal adoption pay and leave.

it doesn't change my feelings about FtA - but it does p*ss me off that I was told late in the game that we would be getting a fostering allowance.

have sent a polite email to SW asking her to go find out..

[MintyLizzy9]

I find the entire process infuriating

[Zephyroux1]

I have a little one placed via foster to adopt and I have foster allowance, adoption pay and a start up allowance. Hope this is helpful info to you.