When are additional foster care allowances paid?
Additional foster care allowances are paid according to your fostering service’s payment schedule and the purpose of the allowance. The exact timing may depend on the qualifying event or expense, so check your fostering agreement or ask your supervising social worker for confirmation.
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There is no single national payment date for additional foster care allowances. The date depends on the type of allowance, the fostering service’s internal payment cycle and whether the payment needs to be approved or supported by information about the child’s circumstances.
Additional payments are commonly handled in one of three ways:
- Regular additions: an allowance that applies throughout a placement may be added to the usual fostering payment and paid on the service’s standard schedule.
- Event-based allowances: a payment linked to a birthday, holiday or another specific occasion may be arranged for the relevant period rather than being included in every payment.
- Approved expense payments: support for an agreed expense may be paid after the request has been checked, either in the next normal payment run or through a separate payment process.
Some services require an allowance to be requested in advance, particularly where the cost can be planned. Others may deal with it after the event or once the expense has been confirmed. This means that two types of additional allowance may appear at different points, even when they relate to the same foster placement.
The fostering agreement, payment schedule or written policy should explain the relevant process. Look for information about the qualifying event, who must authorise the payment, whether a request form is needed and whether supporting documents are required. If the written information is unclear, the supervising social worker or fostering finance team can confirm the expected payment date and explain what needs to happen first.
When checking a payment, it is useful to ask:
- Is the allowance paid with the regular fostering payment or separately?
- Does the payment apply from a particular date or only after an event has taken place?
- Does the service need prior approval?
- Who submits the request and who authorises it?
- Will the amount appear on a payment statement?
- What should a carer do if an approved allowance is missing?
Keep copies of requests, approvals, receipts or other relevant records where the fostering service asks for them. If a payment does not appear when expected, check whether the request was submitted correctly, whether approval is still pending or whether it missed the service’s payment cut-off. Raising the issue promptly allows the fostering service to identify whether the payment is awaiting information, has been scheduled for a later payment run or needs correcting.
Before applying to foster, prospective carers should ask how additional allowances are administered, because arrangements can differ between fostering services. Understanding the payment schedule and approval process helps carers plan for costs without treating an additional allowance as an automatic payment unless the service has confirmed that it applies.
For an allowance linked to a particular child or placement, the relevant payment date may depend on confirming that the qualifying circumstances applied during the stated period. This can mean the allowance is paid after the period it covers, rather than on the date the event or expense occurred.
When discussing payments with your fostering service, ask whether the allowance is calculated from the placement start date, the date of the event or another agreed date. This is particularly important where a placement changes during the period, as the service may need to confirm which dates and circumstances qualify before releasing the payment.
Find Out When Your Additional Foster Care Allowances Are Paid
If you are considering fostering, speak to Become a Foster Family to discuss how additional allowances are administered and what to check before applying.