Foster Parent Compensation

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About this topic

There are a variety of ways to compensate resource families beyond the standard room and board rate (which itself can vary based on different factors), including special salaried foster parent programs and ad hoc additional employment opportunities.

Why this matters

Every caregiver of a dependent child should have financial support to provide a stable and supportive placement. In many systems, kinshp caregivers lack access to these resources. And in the case of some youth with high levels of need, growing professional foster parent programs are proving better outcomes and helping keep these youth out of institutions. And providing smaller but meaningful ways for your families to earn extra money for related work, like co-leading trainings, can increase satisfaction and retention.

What we can do

  • Look for additional ways to compensate foster parents. This might take the form of paying them to appear on panels, provide mentoring to new families, or incentive payment for providing referrals or placement stability.
  • Pay for respite. Every foster parent needs a break sometimes.
  • Pay your kinship caregivers If your system has the practice of unlicensed (unpaid) kin, look for ways to either secure state funding to fill in the gap, or streamline your licensing process and take greater advantage of relative non-safety exemptions to get all your relatives licensed and eligile for IV-E reimbursement. (Reach out to us for pro bono advice!)
  • Establish a professional foster parent program. A professional foster parent doesn't have to (indeed, shouldn't) have outside employment or income; they receive a salary in exchange for committing to fully meeting the needs of the child in their home. These programs can help avoid institutional placements and, when designed well, are generating impressive outcomes for even children with very high levels of need.

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