Retainers.

[Minnerva]

Was wondering how many carers on here are paid retainers by their LA and if so how is it calculated-percentage of wage,sliding scale etc etc.
We are not and the time scale beetween placements can be a real concern moneywise.We do manage to get through but a retainer paid would be a huge help financially.
Would love to hear what other carers think or their experiences.
Thank you :)xx

I didnt think la paid retainers my la dont as their are that many children and that little cares we oftern dont get much of a gap between placements

The reason guess ifa getnit because they can somtimes go for long period as la like to use their own carers first

We get 8 weeks 'retainer' which is our allowance element - this can either be at our request (i.e. a break) or between placements.

we get nothing, no child=no money.

forgot to mention - i'm with a LA - also, they actually have a 'surplus' of carers - so many are waiting quite a while for a placement these days.. also, saves them having to use IFA's

No retainer here either. Like Sumum put it - no child = no money.

Thanks for the replies.:)
Our la seems to have quite a lot of foster carers now-I guess they are one of the better ones.Some foster carers though are waiting for a long,long time between placements which can be difficult.

No retainer here either. As one child leaves another is placed.

i think minnerva it will depend on how narrow your age group is.