Types of foster care and payments
Our foster carers
Foster carers are people approved by the fostering service to care for children up to the age of 18 years and beyond in their own home.
The length of time that children can stay with foster carers will vary from child to child. Foster carers provide a stable family environment to a child. They will meet all of their needs and help them to reach their potential.
We are proud to be an Ofsted rated good service and will always do what we can to support our foster carers, new and current.
We have also adopted the Mockingbird model and are currently trialling it with our first constellation, which should improve support and creating connections for both foster carers and looked after children even more.
Types of foster care in Darlington
There are many types of foster care. As part of your fostering assessment, you will explore what type of fostering is best suited to your skills and experience.
Short term
This is when a foster family cares for a child due to difficulties or illnesses in the family. This varies from an overnight stay, a few weeks or few months.
Long term
Sometimes a child may need to live with a foster family for a longer period of time because they cannot be cared for within their own family.
Foster carers can help by offering a child the chance to grow up in a safe and supportive environment. Where possible there may be opportunity to keep in touch with their family.
Respite foster care
This is where foster carers provide short placements to support other foster carers, for example if they need to have a holiday to “re-charge their batteries”.
Some foster carers prefer to offer a respite care if they are not available all of the time to provide full time placements.
Others provide a respite placement alongside other types of fostering.
Parent and child placement
This is where a parent or parents with a young child all live together in a foster placement.
The foster carer supports the parent to develop the skills they need to care for their child.
The parent would move on when it is deemed they are ready to care for their child independently.
Supported Lodgings
Supported Lodgings providers offer the next step to independence for young people aged 16 – 21 years who are leaving care.
You can find out more about becoming a Supported Lodgings provider on our Supported Lodgings page.
Contact for the child with their family
When children and young people are being cared for in a foster family, contact with their parents and siblings, if agreed, is important.
Foster carers may be involved in transporting the child to see the parents or wider family, and will support the child to manage contact.
Payment to foster carers
The amount you will earn with us depends on your levels of experience and on the ages and number of children you care for.
All foster carers receive an allowance designed to cover all aspects of the cost of caring for a child.
The level of the allowance varies according to the age of the child, up to £259.84 for teenagers who are 16+.
Foster Carers also receive a fee known as a ‘professional fee’ for each child in their care per week.
The amount received depends on your existing experience, knowledge and skill as a foster carer.
The criteria attached to these bands allows carers to progress to the top band C of £200 per week.
Newly approved foster carers could be on Band’s A, B or C depending on their experience.
Example payments
A foster carer on Band A, caring for two siblings aged three and four would for example receive £200 per week in professional fees. They would also get £318.08 per week in foster care allowance. A total of £518.08 per week.
A foster carer on Band C, caring for a four-year-old and an 11-year-old could expect to receive a total of £772.61 per week in professional fees and allowances.
An additional allowance will also be made for each child before Christmas and the school summer holidays.
As a foster carer you will NOT be eligible to claim Child Benefit for any child that you care for.
There is a different payment scheme for Supported Lodgings providers who receive a weekly payment of around £250 per week for providing a home for a young person.
Staying Put
The Staying Put weekly fee is for over 18’s who are living with foster families. They receive £260 per week plus a weekly contribution from the young person of £20 per week.
Age related fostering allowances 2020-21
| Age | Amount |
|---|---|
| 0 - 4 years | £159.04 |
| 5 - 10 years | £175 |
| 11 - 16 years | £213.57 |
| 16 years plus | £259.84 |
Professional weekly fees for foster carers
| Band A | Entry level | £100 per week per child |
|---|---|---|
| Band B | Intermediate level | £125 per week per child |
| Band C | Advanced level | £200 per week per child |
If the time is right for you now, get in touch with us to talk about taking the first step on your fostering journey.
If you are still undecided, join us for one of our informal fostering information events.
You can download a handy guide to becoming a paid foster carer [pdf document] or view our fostering videos.