Fostering Allowances

[elfish]

Can i ask if anybody has been given a breakdown on what percentage of a child's allowance should be spent on what?

We get an 'all in' allowance so it covers, housing, clothing, toys, pastimes, holidays, birthday/christmas, pocket money, savings, travel etc etc but no guidance on how much to spend on each area.

If you have guidance could you please share it, or if no guidance can you please share what you think it should be or what you do in your household.

We have no guidance but I believe the fostering network publish a breakdown? I remember reading once, have you looked on their website?

We are with an agency and we are expected to treat the children as our own. We are expected to buy clothes, school equipment,holidays,Xmas, birthdays etc. Also to provide transport to and from contact.
The only thing that is checked is pocket money and weekly payments into their savings accounts.
I do know of some carers who do not dress their children in clothes they would their own and have been told by SW that some don't decorate thei Childs bedroom accordingly. Hopefully these are few and far between.

Hi there,

Even though I am only applying I know carers and I have heard some horror stories - from a child being told they have £50 for clothes but that also has to include all their school clothes. So nothing for clothes.

I am a firm believer (and my friends that are carers) that there shouldnt be a break down, that you should maintain your home but not concern about spending £50 on clothes and £20 on food and £15 on transport. Treat it as one budget and buy what the need first and then work your way to things they want.

Also, it is possible that you could have a child come to your home with only the clothes on their back. You cant look at it as only having £50 for clothes that week and so on. The child (or young person) needs clothes, they need a tooth brush, they need so much. The responsibility of a foster carer is to provide what the child needs. At the begining it is going to cost you more and every few months (as they grow) you will have to replenish their things as well.

I like Cassimin (dont know how to "tag") am going through an agency and from what I've seen we are being encouraged to treat the kids as our family. We already do - my friends placements are my nephews. That the way I it should be done - obviously others can disagree.

We get an allowance and then a 'fee' for them being a long term placement. It goes into a separate account that we then just transfer into our main account and use as and when we need to, along with my husband's wage. So rent comes out of the account, food, bills, petrol etc as well as clothes for the children, days out, club fees etc. I never think about what I'm spending (well, as long as I know I have the money to spend) I just like to think I treat the children as I would treat any birth children (that I don't have).

Today, for example, they needed new pants and socks (well they probably don't but I've got that many single socks I can't find the partner to I thought it easiest to just buy some new ones!) so I went and bought them about 8 pairs of socks and 6 pairs of pants each. Then I saw onesies I knew they would love so bought them as well.

Then tonight my eldest started Cubs so I had to pay for that. Next week the younger one will start a new term at Beavers so I'll pay for that. All the money will come out of the same 'pot' so to speak. They're 'my' boys and I want them to properly feel part of the family.

thanks for everybody's input, that is basically what we do.

spending money guidance is issued and also savings, we give over the recommended amount.

one thing they are now saying though is that any child over ten needs to sign weekly that they have received their spending money, i have never hear this before and wondered if anyone else has to do this.?

my thinking is that it is not treating foster child 'like one of my own' as i wouldn't ask my own child to sign for any cash given, doing so will make them feel less like part of the family not more?????

That kind of thing really pisses me off elfish. SS say they want the children to be part of the family and 'normal' and then they keep ramming it down their throats that they're in foster care so therefore 'different!'

i cannot tell you how much i agree with you Kitsandkids

Go Henry account.

My friend uses it for his placements - the money is electronically transferred - no signature needed. Can use paypoints and so on

Perhaps this will be a suitable alternative, you can prove they got the money and you can also track it if needed?

We have an account for ours that gets a dd from my account weekly.
We are required to put £10 per week in but we put £30 in.
We are also required to give £5 per week pocket money. Our little one is 7. They constantly get money throughout the week so I don't give the £5. Probably will when they are a bit older.
I had a phone call a few weeks ago asking if child's account had over £10,000 in it. For some reason they seem to be checking up on cash, maybe some carers are not giving what they are supposed to.
Other than having to report injuries I can honest say our little one is treated as our own with hardly any input from SW.
I worry that when they leave care if they rely on benefits they won't get any as they have savings.
Maybe this is why they are checking up so that when child leaves care LA don't need to help financially.

Mine get one pound pocket money. They're 7 and 8. I also have money put aside in an account for them - 75 pounds each that they got for birthday and Christmas. Over 10,000? Wow!!

In a typical week I give my two 20p per day for fruit at school, plus a bit more on 'tuck shop' day. 50p each for a local club one night a week, plus 40p each for a snack there. 3 pounds each for Beavers/Cubs.

Then of course there's food, clothes, days out and everything else! They're not hard done by in any way, shape or form but I can't imagine having 10,000 in a bank account for them.

We are with an agency and we are required to open an account for the child and put at least £10 per week in it. This money is not to be given to the child until they leave care.
If they return home they take it with them.
If the child comes into care at a young age and leaves late they could have this much.
Bank statements are checked by my social worker yearly. I am also asked at every lac review if there are savings.
Our little one is only 7 and with us long term. There is already over £4000 in their account.
More than in mine!

the sad part about savings for long term children, is that they can accrue thousands but when they leave the account is handed over to the child and they often blow the money unwisely.

I had a friend at school who had to sign for her pocket money every week, as did her siblings. it was so her parents never had to listen to arguments about so and so got more than me or claims that one child had accidentally been missed off and not got their pocket money SO you could introduce it in general for the family and make a bit of fun out of it, a bit like people used to have to sign for their wage packets and it is so the children know you can't forget to give it to them.