Giving up work to foster....benefits

[ohoneybeeo]

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone could help me.
I'm currently going through the assessment to become a foster carer, and will be giving up work to do so. I've recently heard that if you give up work voluntarily you can't claim any benefits for 6 months. Does anyone know if this applies to foster carers also?
Thanks for any help.

[passmyglassplease]

Hi all, glad I stumbled across this board, I am just about to look into benefits available as I have one week left at my current employment. I started out taking in homeless youngsters and have progressed onto fostering, I am a single parent with one birth child at home.

I already have a teenager in place, however he is due to be moving into supported housing in the next 6 weeks. I have asked my agency to see if they can get a placement lined up as I do have a mortgage to pay. I have researched benefits available to foster carers and have come up with.

Working tax credit
Child tax credit
Income support

Am I correct in my deductions?

[mum2tots]

You can only get child tax credits for your own children, not for LAC. You can then chose working tax credits OR income support. x

[Candycoco]

And you can only claim income support if you foster for a local authority NOT an agency

[Keely40]

Hello I'm new to this site. I'm thinking about becoming a foster mum but unsure about choosing a foster agency. Any advice please!