sign in

Campaign Objective

A payment structure that pays foster carers for their work and skills and includes realistic retainers between placements.

Immediate goals

To lobby the UK governments to establish a realistic fee structure for foster carers and allocate funding to its implementation.

Why we campaign on payments:

  • Fostering can be a full-time job for foster carers because of the needs of the children they care for and the complexity of the foster carer's role in a large care team. Yet fewer than half of foster carers in the UK receive payment for their time and skills.
  • Of those who are paid, three-quarters are paid less than £100 a week.
  • Many foster carers only receive payment when a child is in placement, so they also experience financial hardship when there are gaps between children staying with them.
  • The pool of traditional foster carers is shrinking, so there is an urgent need to recruit and retain good foster carers to meet the needs of children.
  • Without adequate payment, the door is closed to many would-be foster carers who simply cannot afford to foster.
  • Research has found that when fostering services pay a fee, they are less likely than others to experience a shortage of carers and their carers are less likely to leave fostering.
  • Adequate, widespread payment to foster carers would open the door to many new foster carers. That means a broader pool of choice, better fostering matches, and a better experience of foster care for fostered children.

What we've achieved

The Fostering Network has been instrumental in campaigning to change the perception of fostering from an unpaid vocation to a paid profession, in order to increase the pool of foster carers and improve the lives of fostered children. Our research and lobbying has been at the forefront of getting fee payments recognised and used in several areas as a necessity for effective recruitment and retention of foster carers.

Payments survey

The Fostering Network surveyed foster carers across the UK in 2006 to find out whether they receive adequate financial recognition for the complex roles and responsibilities they perform.

The results showed that foster carers are very poorly paid and in many cases expected to work as volunteers.

Download Can't afford to foster: a study of fee payments to foster carers in the UK, March 2007.

Download a summary report of the UK payments study.

Summary reports are also available for Scotland and Wales / Cymru.

UK survey of allowances

The Fostering Network has conducted a comprehensive survey of allowances and 'specialist payment schemes' across the UK. More information on this survey is available under the allowances campaign.

How you can help

You can write to your MP, MSP, AM or MLA, in support of the Fostering Network's campaign to make sure there all fostered children get a better chance of finding their ideal placement.

You can join our rapid response group, and be at the front line of our information-gathering and feedback operation, which is critical if we are to lobby governments with hard facts at our disposal.

You can email campaigns manager Adam Hug directly, or call 020 7620 6434.