Foster carers ‘quitting’ over lack of State support, Oireachtas committee told

Foster carers, who might have fostered dozens of children over a several decades, face poverty in retirement as they are not entitled to the contributory State pension, an Oireachtas committee heard on Wednesday.

Such carers are not considered available for work while fostering and receive no social welfare credits. This, and the fact the fostering allowance has not increased since 2009, were “two critical factors” in many foster carers deciding to “cease fostering”, said David Taylor, chief executive of Foster Care Ireland, a private fostering agency.

Addressing the Committee on Social Protection, he said the number of available foster care placements had fallen as the demand for placements was increasing, driven by demographics and social trends.

“The availability of foster care placements must improve if demand is to be met. Failure will result in poorer outcomes for children,” he added.

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Members heard calls for the issue of social welfare credits and the inadequacy of the fostering allowance to be addressed “urgently”. The allowance, of €325 per week per child up to 12 years, and €352 for over 12s, had “been static” since 2009, said Catherine Bond, chief executive of the Irish Foster Care Association.

She said foster carers were at a “distinct disadvantage as most have been requested to stay at home to meet the care needs of their children.

“They are not entitled to sign on for social welfare credits, not available for work. Recognition of the role of foster carers in State care is not adequately considered in the social welfare system, particularly in relation to state pension contributions. Currently the investment of time by foster carers does not trigger contributions towards the state contributory pension.”

She said many risked “poverty in their later years while performing an essential service for the State. This is not an equitable or sustainable situation.”

For the first six months of fostering a child, carers are not entitled to child benefit as the hope is the child will be reunited with their birth family. However, there is no payment to replace this for those six months leaving many out of pocket, she added.

Foster carers who had unaccompanied minors placed with them often don’t even get the fostering allowance, as the placement is not considered a foster placement. “Yesterday we had a call from an approved foster carer who has an unaccompanied minor placed with them but not within a fostering capacity.

“This foster carer has raised the high level of costs associated with housing a child, starting in a new school with school uniforms etc, dealing with very traumatised children who will require a degree of trauma counselling, but who has not received any financial assistance from anybody. She has received nothing,” said Ms Bond.

Foster mother, Clare Corridon, told the committee she and her husband were given 24 hours’ notice they would be fostering a two-week-old baby.

“We had absolutely nothing so there was a mad shopping frenzy… in the middle of Covid… Thankfully we did have the means to buy those things but if we were in that situation and didn’t have money in the bank there was no additional payment for getting set up. Anyone who has bought for a new baby knows how expensive all that is. For other people that would be a huge financial strain,” she said.