What does foster care pay?

I have been asked many times, “How much does foster care pay to the foster parents that take care of all of the kids in state care?” And my favorite follow up question is always “They pay you pretty good for that, don’t they?”

My wife and I were unaware that there was money involved when we first looked into providing care. It was more of a mission for us, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that there was some financial benefit to help out with the burdens that many families feel.

Foster care pay is variable by state and situation. Most states have a base rate by day, week, or month. Kids with special needs or little ones in diapers may qualify for additional payments to help offset the additional costs of helping raise these special kids with special needs.

Why Do Foster Parents Get Paid?

In the United States foster parents volunteer their time to take care of random kids, or sometimes they just take in a family member’s child. If this is a calling, why should they make money off these kids?

It is a valid question, and the obvious concern is whether or not the motivation is to “just make money” or is it a valid mission to care for the kids around us that don’t have a safe and secure place to play.

If you want to hear a story about exactly what that looks like, listen to this podcast (shameless self-promotion alert, but seriously – check out the podcast!). However, if you listen to the series of episodes titled, “The Legacy of Standing With Turtle,” you will begin to understand the dangers that some kids experience; and the need for someone to stand up for kids who are in real danger.

Unfortunately, these situations usually end up in a child needing help from doctors, mental health providers, and also from the courts to be sure they are being taken care of. Foster parents often need to take time off of work to make these appointments. Then there is the cost of transportation to and from appointments and let’s not forget the need to feed and clothe them as well.

According to an article in USA Today, the average cost is well above $200,000 to raise a child to 18 years old. The exact number works out to roughly $13,000 per year or a little over $1,000 per month. Considering that is the average cost, any kid with special circumstances and needs is going to be above the average.

Then when you look up the table of foster care reimbursements and find the averages of my state, (Missouri); it seems that the low end of the pay scale ($300 per month) most likely doesn’t even cover the expenses, even if you are an expert in frugality.

Foster Payments Vary By State

There is no federally mandated payment schedule. Most rates are set by state or county authorities. And as such, the rates are highly variable.

Each state has a separate reimbursement rate that is determined by the state legislature (or county government in some rare cases) and determined by budget constraints. The amount varies greatly depending on the state that you live in.

According to an article on the website wehavekids.com, The monthly rates can range anywhere from over $900 per month on the top end of New Jersy’s rates to $300 per month on the low end of Missouri’s reimbursement scale. Obviously, the amount is a wide range and can fluctuate even further depending on the level of care needed and things like a diaper allowance (for babies).

Foster Payments are Actually Reimbursements

I am not certain about how other states view the payments, but in my home state of Missouri, the pay is considered a reimbursement. This means that you are expected to pay for the expenses upfront and then be reimbursed the following month at whatever the set rate is for the child in care.

The benefit of this model is that taxes do not apply to reimbursements (since it is not considered income) and it will not affect your taxes at all. This is especially helpful for those that would be willing to foster, but the extra income would push them up a tax bracket and potentially cost them to pay more in taxes.

Payments Vary by Care Level

The different levels of care needed are based on county or state guidelines. However, they are similar in most cases. Some children need a higher level of care based on their medical, mental or emotional needs. For example, a child with a feeding tube is going to require a certain level of training and because of the extra time and education required, there is a different reimbursement rate than for a child who requires a less time-intensive care level.

Some placements require special training to deal with medical needs and adaptive equipment such as G-Tubes or CPAP machines. Sometimes kids have been injured to the point of brain damage and require a multitude of special interventions. The training and ability to handle such needs usually mean a difference in reimbursement rates due to the amount of time it takes to train and give that level of care.

Foster care reimbursements vs adoption subsidies

The ultimate goal of foster care is finding permanency for every child. We know that a child who experiences a lifetime of permanency is better prepared for life as an adult and will typically be more successful and less likely to end up in trouble with law enforcement than children who never get that sense of permanent family as a part of their childhood.

The first choice is always to have a parent put aside the things that brought their child into the system and provide a loving and supporting environment for them. Unfortunately, that is not always the outcome. Some parents are not able to overcome the challenges in their lives and in those cases, the state will usually terminate the parental rights and place those children for adoption.

When a child is placed for adoption there is an adoption subsidy that is provided by the state for the adoptive parents to help raise those kids. Those payments also vary by state or county across the nation. A listing of benefits for the State of Missouri can be found here.

Now for the real story

If you think you are going to get rich from being a foster family, I have bad news for you! Foster Care is a mission and if you are doing it right, your real payment will be the love you give and receive from kids that are in a terrible chapter in their own life.

If that sounds smarmy to you, all I can say is after you pay the costs associated with properly caring for a child there is rarely anything left over once you reconcile the cost versus the reimbursement rates.

The opportunity to be the one who is providing strength for the weakest among us is the biggest payment you will receive. There is a real joy you get when you see a child that came to your home looking like a frightened and hurt animal blossom into a happy, healthy child that seems to suddenly know what love is.

So if you are asking the money question because you want to be certain you can afford to help out, I will applaud your forethought. But if you are looking for a supplemental income, go somewhere else! We need more foster families, but only the ones that are doing it to help out their communities and the children in them!