Is it a job?

emamum · 07-03-2008, 08:30

I was at the job centre the other day, looking for a job(duh!). I put all the details into the computers, looking for job in childcare, blah di blah and one of the results was for foster carers.. it had the wage and everything on there...... Am i wrong or is that not actually a job? The wage was pretty good and you could have a regular job at the same time.... Are they that desperate for foster carers now? and will this kind of advertising not get the wrong sort of ppl applying because of the wage? I think foster caring should be about helping to build a better life for the childre, not about how much money you get for it... What do you think?

flashy · 07-03-2008, 08:37

i didnt actually think it was classed as a job, i knew you got a certain amount of money for looking after the kids but i never thought you would get a 'wage'...how strange

Neil · 07-03-2008, 08:46

You get a large amount of money for fostering. How much did it say per child Emma?

onlyme · 07-03-2008, 09:36

I guess they have to advertise as many places as possible.

I'd love to do something like this, but am nervous as I have a young son

Think people that do this are stars in their own right!

jackyalex · 07-03-2008, 10:03

Fostering is classed as a job as you earn per child, you also have to sort out your own tax, the amount you get differs with each child as no 2 are the same by that i mean bedwetting/soiling or behaviour and everything else, I was fostered myself as a child and was also brought up mainly in the care system as some of my friends know on here. Fostering a child is not something to just walk into and think its the same as being a parent to the child, circumstances per child are different there is so many different reasons why a child is in care most people assume its because of behaviour but most of the time it isnt, you also have to take courses on different subjects to do with fostering and childcare as this is extremely important as there is so many things to look out for, its not a job that you should do for the money as alot of people are in it just for the money, anyway if you feel that you really want to help foster a child and give them a good start in life then fostering is the job for you, i hope that more people become interested in fostering

Neil · 07-03-2008, 10:10

Just had a look around the net. You can be paid almost £400 per week for fostering a child with behavioural issues.

That works out at over £20,000 per year. Sounds like a job to me.

emamum · 07-03-2008, 10:32

But my point is that this is not the kind of thing you should do for the money! would this not be refered to as a vocation, not a job..

Neil · 07-03-2008, 10:34

I agree totally, I would willing take on the job and say "no thanks, give the 20 grand to someone else"

emamum · 07-03-2008, 10:35

Dont take the p!ss!! I am trying to say that this kind of advertising may attract the wrong kind of ppl

Lilly · 07-03-2008, 20:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

Just had a look around the net. You can be paid almost £400 per week for fostering a child with behavioural issues.

That works out at over £20,000 per year. Sounds like a job to me.

I don't begrudge foster carers a penny of that. 'Behavioural issues' is a huge banner that all kinds of things could come under. You could be being spat at, punched and sworn at every day and God knows what else.

And you have to adapt your family and your life to cope. It's a 24/7 job and no time off.

Maybe you might get some unsuitables applying to get their hands on the money but hopefully they'd be weeded out at selection point.

shillelagh · 07-03-2008, 21:30

FAQs

That tells you all about it.

keetah992000 · 08-03-2008, 22:50

maybe it is classed as a job because it sets that invisible boudary - the one that keeps in your mind that the children could be taken away at anytime. i am sure that no amount of money stops you from getting attached to them but maybe the money helps to keep carers grounded in th reality of the situation.
and lets be honest - if you were looking after children for nothing and bonded with them and they were taken from you at a moments notice it would have all sorts of implications and i am sure one of them would be resentfulness because you have invested in the children - i am not being callus i just think it is human nature.

cherokee · 09-03-2008, 00:45

Hubby and me would love to be foster carers but when i enquired we couldnt because althoug we live in a 3 bed house we dont have a spare room . each child has to have a room of their own apparently. so will have to wait till my own leave home before i eapply.

blazey · 09-03-2008, 04:22

My housemates mum fosters purely for the money. She has been punched by her current foster child but its the money that keeps her doing it.

I'd like to adopt when I'm a bit older, I have always thought that whilst its nice to conceive your own child, it would be also be nice to provide a home for a child that doesn't have the privilege of its own natural parents, and it's something many take forgranted.

I prefer the idea of adoption mainly because I dont think I could deal with getting attached and then having to let go, but perhaps one day fostering may seem like an option.