Universal Credit and Fostering

[Furrybutts]

Hello, Im new to this section of Mumsnet.
I'm around halfway through the process of being approved as a parent and child fosterer, and have some questions about Universal Credit and fostering that my team haven't been able to help with.

My situation in brief is this...
I'm currently in receipt of ESA as I have not been able to work following an accident in 2018 which caused a brain shake.
I now feel that I am well enough to work, so am in the process of changing over to Universal Credit while I seek employment.
When I get my first placement, I obviously will not be able to work. So, will I be able to claim any Universal Credit or Housing benefit still, or will I be expected to look after myself financially while I have a placement with me?
Has anyone been in a similar situation?
TIA

When we started fostering we were expected to be able to support ourselves financially with or without a child staying with us. The agency we applied with asked us for 5 years bank statements to prove this.
You need to make sure that you aren’t dependant on the allowance as if the child is moved on, makes an allegation or if there are no suitable placements you may have an empty room for quite a while.
The allowance you get for the child as well as being spent on food/ bills also needs to be spent on clubs, clothes, holidays, transport, pocket money etc. You will also be expected to open a bank account if they haven’t got one and put a set amount away each week to save for when they leave care.

Thanks Cassimin I found a brilliant online site for the answers I needed.
I'm going to be a parent and child fosterer, not a child fosterer, and as such I will be able to claim universal credit between placements.

Hi OP, just wondered whether you feel able to share the online site that you mentioned? TIA

stephenbelafonte
I don't know how to do links, but the site is called turn2us

Good luck ;)

Hi, we recently had some training with the job centre/ citizens advice and they said that most foster carers (for LA) would be eligible to claim universal credit if fostering is their only source of income (ie neither party has another job).