Pay, Benefits and Allowances

For the right people, fostering is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Taking care of a local child, watching them grow and develop, making magic moments that last a lifetime… these are the things that make fostering so special to so many people like you. You don’t become a foster carer for the money – but the pay, benefits and allowances you’ll receive mean that you’ll have the financial support you need to give your child the support they need…

Join Shropshire’s biggest family as a foster carer, and you could receive up to £45,000 a year to foster one child. And, if you foster older children or children with complex needs or disabilities, you could earn even more.

“All the different allowances really help. They mean we can go on holiday and buy proper prezzies at Christmas and birthdays.”

• Receive up to £45,000 per year for one child (Terms & Conditions apply)
• Foster older children and children with complex needs or disabilities and earn even more
• Allowances for birthday presents
• Allowances for Christmas presents
• Yearly holiday allowance for your whole family
• Travel expenses
• Mileage for fostering training and events
• Reimburse any specialist equipment your child needs
• Shropshire Foster carers continue to receive a fee element per week whilst they do not have a child/young person in their care, we pay 52 weeks per year.

Foster Carers are classed as self-employed and work for Shropshire Council – by whom they are thoroughly assessed and properly supported.

We pay our foster carers extremely competitive rates with plenty of added benefits. How much you receive depends on the type of care you provide and the age of the child in your care.

Foster Carer’s payments are made up of two parts: a skills fee payment and an allowance payment. These are based on the ages and number of children they have place with them and any children with complex needs or disabilities. Carers can foster more than one child and those coming from careers in certain complementary roles or with experience and qualifications – what we call our specialist Foster Carers, are rewarded at the top level.

Tax and National Insurance

Most foster carers do not pay tax on their fostering payments. You may also be exempt from tax on a proportion of your non-fostering income.

For more details on the financial support you’d enjoy through Shropshire Fostering, enquire today.