Fostering and working from home

[RJCare]

Hi all, I am looking to become a full time foster mummy but after seeing the allowances that Notts County Council offer I'm worried that I am not going to be able to contribute to the household expenses adequately. Can anyone suggest some type of paid work I could do from home please? Thanks in advance :-)

If the children you foster are under school age you’ll be lucky to get any work done during the day. Bear in mind that children in care are there for a reason and may need extra support and attention, along with appointments/contact with birth family/social worker input.

What are the allowances and what income level do you need to make it work?

I believe I will need to earn an additional £150 per week to make it work

thank you for your responses, yes its not going to be straight forward I know...

What skills do you have?

These threads normally have any sorts of suggestions from bookkeeping to ironing or dog walking.

Could you do a cleaning job early in the morning before your partner leaves the house? I know a lot of cleaning companies are always on the look out for cleaners

You may get more from an independent fostering agency. I know not everyone approves but you need to eat!

If the children are school age you'll still have appointments etc but you can probably work around that. Would cleaning for an agency be an option for you?

You also need to plan for periods where you don't have a child.

Do you have enough space to take siblings? This group of children are really in need of placements where they can try to stay together - then the allowance should be X 2. Fostering can lead to lots of unpredictable meetings and assessments which can really interfere with any other work commitments. Have you spoken to the LA first and see what they say?

Look into a fostering agency.

There is a Fostering board under 'Becoming a parent'. You might like to post there regarding the feasibility of any plans to work & foster simultaneously.

thank you all good advice xx