Fostering to make money please solve this arguement for me

[NeedsAsockamnesty]

I'm currently arguing with someone about making a profit out of fostering.

My stance is,it's not possible unless you are doing it wrong but they claim they know large numbers of foster carers who say I'm wrong.

So given that you are the ones in the know can you let me know your thoughts on the matter so I can either show them and open their eyes to reality or so I can show them and stutter my apologies.

I don't know how you could not make a profit.

I don't think the fostering allowance is high enough for anybody to make a profit whilst meeting the needs of the child.

I'm not sure what the current figures are but I'm guessing its not much more than £120 a week outside of London and you are expected to fund the child's needs from that so how could you make money out of it?

Rates paid by fostering agencies are higher than those through local authorities.
Agency carers for older, and harder to place children, and children with additional needs are paid more.

Some foster carers are paid over. £400 a week through an agency. So yes they would make a profit.

You get a payment as well as an allowance. Some of the things that come out of your allowance is expense that you would already have (mortgage/rent- heating - transport). You get around £120 for a baby from the LA. It doesn't cost £120 a week to keep a baby in your already spare room. A 'hard to place' teenager placed through an agency might get an allowance of several hundred pounds.

The person I'm talking about is talking about a LA not private agency placement.

So far everything she's told me about is through the LA

It looks like foster carets can make quite a bit but it's hard work.

www.totaljobs.com/JobSearch/JobDetails.aspx?JBE=1&NoExpire=1&JobId=59409688&Keywords=&Sort=2&JobType1=10&Rate=40000&RateType=1&LTxt=G3+8NG&Radius=10.000

The link advertises foster carets at 400 to 1200 per week.

I've taken a look at my LA website. It gives an example of £19867 per year for two 8 and 12 yo siblings and £34,892 for 'contract care' for a 15 yo (Weekly rate of £632.42 (includes fee of £468.62 per week))

I don't know what contact care is.

It depends what you mean by profit. Is it enough to replace an actual job - no, because I get paid £600 a month to basically be here all the time, attend multiple meetings during the day, be here until they leave for school at 8.20 and back by 3pm.

If you think £600 a month is a lot to be at home all the time then fine.

There is then separate allowance for the child. (About 700 a month, ALL of which and sometimes more is spent on the child)

I'm desperate to go back to work as I've given up 10 years of my life for £600 a month, it has cost us as a family a fortune as I would expect to earn anything from £30-£60k a year (and did before fostering)

I have no pension, no savings at all - so it's cost me £200,000 conservatively through not working to do this.

If you're a stay at home parent or in a very low waged job in a very cheap area then the effects on your life/savings/pension would be less.

I'm not complaining though, please don't think that. Losing the money was worth it but I was told a lot of different crap at the beginning about being able to work, they'd pay for childcare etc - all rubbish.

I could work 3 days a week between 9 and 3. So that's 18 hours available to me. Over the years I've done a lot of volunteering and extra training but no real money.

She would only be able to have one child as she only has one empty bedroom unless the rules have hugely changed she would not be able to have an older child so she's likely to be (if approved) only having under 6's

These are the LA foster carer rates

www.gov.uk/foster-carers/help-with-the-cost-of-fostering

Laurie.

What would your advice to someone whose interest in fostering was money related?

They won't get selected to foster if they're interested in money - the selection is very long, lots of training.

They'll just get weeded out early.

And crucially they won't be able to do the work - it's incredibly difficult at times.

I'm really hoping that is the case.

My mum's ex best friend makes £450 p/w out of fostering a pre teen that she has had for approx 6 yrs.
She is arrogant and treats her fc as an inconvenience, i observed it closely and habitually boasts about how much she is earning.
She has recently said that she jumped through hoops to gain access to fostering.
For those reasons i broke contact, despite being friendly with her fc.
I began to see her fc less to talk to, but she was often in the house iyswim.
As you probs gather, the fm is selfish and is happy to give her fc 2nd best
I have always been horrified, there is so much injustice and i am sad for her.
I thought about reporting her

Lot's of FP's have long periods of no payments before another placement, allowance's are stopped as are All other payments, many have too resort too Benefits, not allowed too work, so all they get is the so called new pension credit's which was always in place prior too introduction, for self employed low earners ( Just gave it a fancy name for Foster Carers) So as for making money for most is impossible. IFA's FC's can go along time without a placement as is becoming too expensive for LA's., as on pebblyshit page states Contract's £34.892 .

Sorry for you MysticMugBug there are people about who are not good representative's for the vast majority of excellent FP's

Mysticmug please can you report her now, the fc needs you to help her. If you don't aren't you being another adult who has let her down?

I know a foster carer, who does it purely for the money,she was getting 340 every 2 weeks for 1 child under 2. Until just recently.She is off to New York again next month 3rd holiday abroad in 13 months.this borough do not delay payments ever.This borough also has an allowance of £670.00 per child per year for holidays if under 10, more if older.
If you do fostering through an agency then the income per child is much higher especially a teenager.,you can also foster teen mums and baby.
I don't foster by the way just no of some people that do.

Most of us do not make a profit - in our family it's my dh's wage that subsidises us really. These £400 a week placements are very rare and are usually single placements of very challenging children, who would otherwise bd in residential care costing £1000's. A few years ago, agencies were thriving, but our LA has only placed 2 children with agencies in the last year, both for less than a month. I hate hearing about bad FCs. Most of us work very hard with very little reward ( pension etc) - on a satisfaction level, it's the best job in the world :)

Applejuice - I don't understand your post at all. How is getting paid £170 a week (which you're saying this lady does) be adequate pay for looking after a baby 24 hours a day, never mind enough to go on 3 foreign holidays?

A minimum wage job for 20 hours a week pays more than that.

Who is going to be in it for the money for 24 hour care for a toddler for £170 a week?

Laura,she was doing weekend respite only.2 nights a week.Fri and Sat night.

Ok, so that's 48 hrs looking after a toddler for £170.

A lot less than minimum wage. Or for caring and providing personal care in any other profession. £3 an hour to look after a toddler - a fair bit less than even daytime childminding.

I don't do babies and I certainly wouldn't look after one for 48 hrs at 3 quid an hour

Depends what you mean by profit.

If you mean over covering expenses that the child brings extra to the home (food/clothes/activities) then yes, of course they make a profit but that's their pay.

The hourly rate they receive in that "pay" is very low though but lots of people seem to think that Fcs should do it for free.

I know someone who became a property millionaire by investing the money they made from fostering. They had up to 4 children at a time, usually with SN and IMO earned every penny. No different to anyone else saving and investing their wages.

By profit I mean using it to lift you from low income to comfortable.

(And no I don't think people should do it for free I think the allowence should be increased)