"I am pmsl at the idea that foster carers are raking in their money."
It's a sad fact that some are. Not all, but a lot more than most of the posters on here would imagine.
I was fostered. Some foster carers cared a bit, some more, some not at all. One family most definitely did it for the money (would admit it to us), and certainly did make a lot of money from it. They took in usually 5 teenagers at a time. They did absolutely everything they could to scrimp so as to make the most amount of profit. "Fosters" had a separate part of the house, with one revolting bathroom with a broken window. w
oThey and their own children had en suite rooms in a lovely part of the house, with locks on the doors. The kitchen, fridge and cupboards all had locks. Their children (2 younger than us, 2 older) each had their own keys. Their children were bought different food from us, for example they were allowed fruit juice, we had to have Tesco value cola or water. They had fluffy bread rolls for school lunch, with chocolate and fruit, we had to use Tesco value white bread and value cheese. I could go on.
My sister was placed separately from me, as she was younger. Out of her three placements, one was exactly like the one I describe, one was emotionally abusive, and the other was both emotionally and physically abusive. This is not as uncommon as you would like to believe.
I hope to foster at some point. When I was younger (and in care) I really resented that amount that foster "carers" are paid. However, considering it now, I know that I couldn't afford it without some payment. They problem lies, I think, in the fact that children's expenses aren't discrete and therefore carers can get away with basically stealing the money meant for the children.