Getting paid

In our Love Fostering, Need Pay report, we found that up to 50% of foster carers do not receive any fee payment for the work that they do as foster carers and 36% of foster carers have considered giving up fostering because the fees do not give them a living wage.

No other profession that works with children is expected to do so without being paid, and no other professional has the responsibility to look after a child who is not their own for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year with little or no break. Currently, foster carers, unlike employed workers, do not receive any holiday pay.

No foster carer should be expected to live in poverty as a result of their foster care responsibilities and pay for foster carers is an important part of our Together for Change campaign.

Members of the Fostering Network log in here for more information and resources on pay, and access to peer to peer support in our online community.