CH(F)13

Fostering Allowances

For Children and Young Persons

(up to and including aged 17)

Financial Year 2010/11

(1^st April 2010 - 31^st March 2011)

FOSTERING ALLOWANCES

FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS

(UPTO AND INCLUDING AGED 17)

INDEX

Section 1 Fostering Allowance Rates for Carers: Page 4

Guide to what is covered by maintenance allowance

Section 2 Allowances for Carers of young people aged 16/17 Page 5

Calculations for YPs in further Education/Working/Training “

Tax Relief for Carers - useful website address “

Section 3 Short Term Break Scheme for Children with Disabilities Page 6

Section 4 General Information and Contact Numbers Page 7

Section 5 Pocket Money and Personal Allowances Page 8

for Children and Young People

Section 6 Payment for Additional Expenses Incurred by Carers Page 9

In Caring for a Child:

Initial Foster Allowance “

Birthday and Christmas Allowances etc “

Holiday Allowance “

Cost of Holidays and Outings by Schools “

Day Care for Children Excluded from School Page 10

Payment for Other Child Related Day Care “

Special Aptitudes and Interests “

Exceptional Travel and Fares “

Exceptional School Transport Costs Page 11

Children Temporarily Away from the Foster Home “

Relief Care “

Hospitality Allowances Page 12

Spectacles “

Household Expenses Exclusions “

Section 7 Payments for Other Expenses incurred by Carers: Page 13

Equipment “

Attendance at Foster Carer Training Courses “

Sessional Payments “

Section 8 Carers for Young Adults Over 18 years Page 14

Including Financial Arrangements

Section 9 Exceptional Payments: Page 16

Double Payments “

Retainer Payments “

Section 10 Recovering Overpayments Page 17

Guidance Notes for Office Staff only Pages 18

1. Foster Allowance Rates for Carers

Amounts payable per WEEK from 01.04.10 shown by age and accreditation.

Payments will continue to be made fortnightly.

** Payments adjusted to give young person responsibility for own personal costs etc. - see following page

Children with disabilities may be eligible for Incapacity for Youth or Disability Living Allowance. Foster carers should check with the child's social worker that an application has been made.

The Basic Maintenance Allowance is designed to cover the costs incurred in caring for a child. The table below gives the proportion of the allowance likely to be needed for the 'average' child for clothing etc. Note this for guidance only and the proportion will vary according to the child's needs

* includes pocket money. See rates on page 8.

** 'Normal' transport only. Not including exceptional transport costs - see pages 10 & 11.

2. Allowances for Carers of Young People Aged 16 and 17 Who Have Completed Year 11.

To ensure appropriate preparation for a young person's transition from care to independent living, young people who have completed year 11 will move towards greater financial independence as set out in the formulae below:

This means money previously paid to carers for pocket money, clothing money, toiletries, and bus fares etc. will be diverted direct to the young person. Full details of the arrangement must be set out in the young person's Pathway Plan.

Young Persons in Further Education - Standard

Young person receives an allowance of £51.85 per week

Young person contributes to carer for keep £10.00 per week

Young person retains £41.85 per week

Carer no longer provides clothing money, pocket money, toiletries, bus fares.

Payments to carers reduced by £51.85 per week (in lieu of allowance) plus further £10.00 which client provides direct, (totalling £61.85).

* Education Maintenance Allowance's are exempt from these calculations as they are a direct payment to young people.

Young person in full time employment - Example showing maximum figure:

Young person's net earnings (maximum figure CS will use) £104.00 per week

Minimum protected allowance £51.85 per week

Young person contributes 50% of remainder to carer for keep £26.08 per week

Calculation of keep = (£104.00 - £51.85) x 0.5

Young person retains (Difference between £104.00 and £25.08) £77.92 per week

Carer no longer provides clothing money, pocket money, toiletries, bus fares.

Payments to carers reduced by £51.85 per week (in lieu of allowance) plus further £26.08 which client provides direct (totalling £77.92).

Young person on Training scheme

Financial arrangements for Training schemes now come under the umbrella of EMA - contact your local Leaving Care Team if you need further information and advice on the scheme.

Tax Relief for Carers

For information on tax relief for Carers, visit the website below:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/individuals/foster-carers.htm

3. Short Term Break Scheme for Children with Disabilities

Currently the hourly rate is £5.15 per hour.

The time period used to determine the daily rate is 8 hours. A day is defined literally as a calendar day i.e. from 00:00 to 23:59. Thus:

Per hour £5.15

Per day £41.20

Per week £288.40

Calculation of STB payments

Day care: For a period of less than 24 hours, not including an overnight stay, the actual number of hours up to a maximum of 8 is paid.

Overnight (under 24 hours): For a period of less than 24 hours, which includes an overnight stay, the actual number of hours up to a maximum of 8 up to midnight, plus the actual number of hours up to a maximum of 8 from midnight.

24 hours plus: For a period of more than 24 hours, the actual number of hours up to a maximum of 8 on the first day, then the daily rate for every subsequent day, including the last day. (There will be few occasions when a child would leave their carers before 8:00 a.m.)

4. General Information and Contact Numbers

Because payments are sent during the course of a fortnightly pay period and children may leave foster carers before the date to which the payment has been calculated, an overpayment of allowances may occur. Overpayment can also occur when documents notifying movements of children are lost or delayed.

In these circumstances recovery is affected by deduction from the next payment if possible, but otherwise repayment is required.

If foster carers receive allowances to which they are not entitled, they should notify the Children's Services Payments Section at County Hall as soon as possible. Further guidance on overpayments can be found at Section 10 - Recovering Overpayments.[Author ID1: at Tue Dec 22 11:07:00 2009 ]

Payments are not permissible from local offices.

When a young person remains in placement over the age of 18 their carers are no longer acting as foster carers. The financial arrangements for carers in these circumstances are set out in Section 8 at the end of this paper.

If foster carers wish, for any reason, to contact the Children's Services Finance Section by telephone, the numbers are:

Carer Surname Contact Number

A - J (01603) 222176

K - Z (01603) 222156

Leaving Care (01603) 222120

FAX No (01603) 222505

Norfolk Tax Office 0845 366 7851

5. Pocket Money and Personal Allowances for Children and Young People

Pocket money for the child is included in the basic allowances. This is the minimum amount that should be paid. The amounts payable are:

Personal allowances for over 16's:

Young people in employment will be expected to contribute towards their keep. Contributions are `capped' at first £104.00 per week of client's net income. See example on page 5.

When a young person is unemployed, or is unable to follow normal employment through sickness or for some other reason, the £51.85 allowance will be paid. Any benefits, which the young person is entitled to claim, will be taken into account to determine the amount of the basic allowance payable. Clients will be expected to make a £10.00 per week contribution toward their keep, paid direct to carer.

6. Payments for Additional Expenses incurred by Carers in Caring for a Child

Carers are advised to obtain agreement for additional expenses in advance of expenditure. Wherever possible funding should be discussed at the Placement Agreement meeting and reviewed as part of the Statutory Review process for the child. Receipts should be provided where appropriate.

Initial expenditure at first placement, based on the individual child's needs in order to bring their clothing and personal possessions up to a reasonable level. This can include school uniform and, in the case of babies, an initial supply of nappies. This allowance is available via the child's worker for expenditure incurred within the first month of placement to allow for an accurate assessment of needs.

It is expected that once a child has been initially equipped with clothing, school uniform, nappies etc, that these will be maintained at a reasonable level from the normal fortnightly allowances.

[Author ID2: at Wed Feb 14 16:09:00 2007 ]

An amount equivalent to one week's basic allowance appropriate to the child's age will be paid in addition to the normal fortnightly assessed payments. This allowance is paid automatically to Foster Carers by County Hall to cover presents and related costs.

An amount equivalent to one week's basic allowance appropriate to the child's age (up to maximum of 16yrs `in school' rate for YPs aged 16+), will be paid in addition to the normal fortnightly assessed payments. This allowance is paid automatically to Foster Carers by County Hall to cover presents and related costs.

An amount equivalent to two week's basic allowance appropriate to the child's age (up to maximum of 16yrs `in school' rate for YPs aged 16+) can be claimed annually, in addition to the normal fortnightly assessed payments. This allowance may be claimed whether carers go away for their holiday or stay at home and just take the child on outings etc. Carers should notify the child's worker when they wish to claim this allowance. Please note that, as the allowance can only be claimed once per year for each child, when a child transfers placements the new carers may find that the allowance has been claimed by the previous foster carers.

The cost of outings or holidays with school, youth groups etc may be claimed in addition to the normal fortnightly assessed payments and holiday payments.

NB Only one Children's Services educational organised holiday abroad will be paid for in any three-year period, unless there are special circumstances approved by the Director of Children's Services.

Day Care payments can be made to

Level 1-4 inclusive carers for children temporarily excluded from school for whom carers provide additional supervision and a structured programme of activities. This payment may be made to the carers with whom the child is placed or to other carers. As such payments are expenses rather than a sessional payment for work undertaken (see below) they are exempt from tax.

The rate is £5.81 per hour per child for a maximum of 6 hours a day, and should be claimed via the child's worker. Associated receipts should be attached.

Where day care is needed to enable a carer to have a break from a demanding placement or to attend a meeting related to the child another carer may be found to provide day care. The carer offering day care will receive expenses at £6 per hour for the 1^st child, £9 for 2 children, and £10.50 for 3 children up to a maximum of 8 hours a day. This should be claimed via the child's worker using CS(FIN)001 Expenditure Proposal Form (EPF).

The following can be claimed in addition to the normal fortnightly allowances at the discretion of the Responsible Budget Officer:

(for payments to carers, code to SA9991-5 depending on the Area, 35700, plus team further analysis code)

The basic fortnightly allowance incorporates an element for travelling expenses (see table on page 4) and it is anticipated that this should be sufficient to cover the normal travelling expenses incurred in looking after a child. However, where exceptional travelling expenses are incurred, they may be claimed as an additional allowance. This is paid at the Volunteer Mileage Rate of 36.5p per mile. Examples of travel that is NOT exceptional and therefore not acceptable to claim for include:

Whether a journey is considered exceptional will depend on the reason for the journey, rather than its cost. Local journeys are not considered exceptional and any other journey will have the local amount deducted (as detailed below).

(Code to SA9991-5 depending on the Area, subcode dependent on type of transport used (PTU will add), plus team further analysis code)

Travel/fares to school would normally be covered by the basic fortnightly allowances. However, in exceptional cases this may be claimed. As a rough guide, the national statutory regulations concerning children travelling to their school stipulate what is normal and abnormal or subject to special support, i.e.

Exceptional school transport costs will normally be funded for one term only unless the child is in their GCSE year.

(Code 53600 via Service Agreement in Carefirst)

When a child is placed for 'relief care' in order to give the main carer a break:

Two Households

Same Household

Where carers are required by the Department to offer hospitality to parents, adoptive parents or siblings of any child placed with them, they can reclaim any expenditure incurred in respect of meals, refreshments etc up to the following rates:

NB These rates are the maximum claimable per person [Author ID1: at Mon Dec 21 15:38:00 2009 ]and must be accompanied with a receipt for the appropriate amount:

[Author ID1: at Mon Jan 11 09:57:00 2010 ]

Claims cannot be made for the consumption of alcohol.

The necessary cost of providing spectacles for the child will be met in full. It will be assumed, however, that full advantage is taken of the vouchers available under the National Health Service schemes.

No household expenses may be claimed for (including internet access). It is expected that these expenses would come from the Basic Maintenance Allowance.

7. Payments for Other Expenses incurred by Carers

The costs of providing essential equipment, to enable the foster carer to safely care for children, will be met by the Family Placement Service. Equipment will normally be purchased direct by the Family Placement Team and loaned to the carer household. However with the prior agreement of the Family Placement Team Manager, carers may be asked to purchase some necessary items themselves. Receipts should be submitted to the carer's supervisor who will arrange for reimbursement of agreed expenditure.

Childminding and travelling expenses incurred by carers in attending foster carer training courses will be reimbursed. Rates are:

Childminding: £2.90 per hour

Mileage rate: 36.5p per mile

To claim carers are asked to complete a form available on the day of the course or from the Fostering Training and Development Team. It is not possible to offer compensation for loss of earnings.

Can be paid to carers undertaking a variety of work including:

These payments are regarded as earnings and therefore taxable. The carer should complete an SS(PER)1 Sessional Claim form for the hours worked, including NI number, and submit it to their Supervisor. These claims go direct to Payroll.

The travel element is not taxable, and is paid via EPF through payments section as per other claims.

Rate payable:

If additional childcare costs are incurred these will be reimbursed up to the following maximum hourly rates:

8. Carers for Young Adults over 18

(After age 18 all such payments will be from appropriate Leaving Care budget, with subcode 54160) [Author ID1: at Thu Dec 10 09:22:00 2009 ]

Financial arrangements:

Arrangements must be agreed and set up in line with the young person's Pathway Plan.

Pathway Plan incentives for Relevant Children living independently:

There are a small number of “Relevant Children” (i.e. those aged under 18 who have left care) who are living independently and who are entirely reliant on allowances from the Council under the Children (Leaving Care) Act. For Relevant children the Council will pay an additional incentive of 35% of the benefit level for a child of the same age who would qualify for benefit.

This incentive must be agreed as part of the young person's Pathway Plan.

The Responsible Budget Officer has the discretion to suspend or withdraw the incentive if a young person is unwilling to co-operate or engage in pathway planning.

For the current year the incentive payment will be:

£18.15 per week.

Please note that arrangements for Birthday / Christmas (or other religious festival) allowances, and contributions to holidays will be in line with arrangements for relevant /former relevant children and not with allowances for Looked After Children in fostering placements.

9. Exceptional Payments i.e. Double and Retainer Payments

Double Placement. If there are double placement costs (Level 5 higher and subsequent rate) for one Young Person, a Service Agreement must be authorised and agreed by an Area Service Manager.

If an Area Director agrees the higher or lower subsequent level 5 rate for foster care placements or for specific YP placement(s) with a foster carer, this is accepted as collective agreement by all Directors. This is necessary because the carer may have placements from more than one area code, and also the YP may change teams and areas. For all double placements as specified, a time limit must be detailed on the service agreement. [Author ID1: at Fri Jan 15 12:43:00 2010 ]

Retainer payments. (Subcode 53610)

From 1^st April 2010 retainer payments will be paid with the word “Retainer” following the child's name. If this word does not follow the child's name the payment is not a retainer payment and the carer should contact their social worker and the Payments Team immediately if the child stated is not in their care. The payments system only has the ability to record a limited number of characters and therefore an “R” at the end of the name will also represent a retainer payment. Any overpayments will be offset against future payments (as per Section 10 - Recovering Overpayments)

A retainer payment can only be paid if approved by the relevant Responsible Budget Officer.

The reason for the retainer must be specified on the Service Agreement .

Payment is limited to the accreditation rate, to specifically named children and for a specified time, as detailed on the service agreement.

Under exceptional circumstances a maximum payment of accreditation plus 25% basic allowance is allowable upon approval of an Area Service Manager.

In some cases it may be appropriate to pay a double accreditation amount for a placement if the Young Person's placement would otherwise be under threat by placing another child with the carer. This must be agreed by the relevant Area Service Manager for the young person.

Level 5 carers, may under certain criteria be paid at the higher rate for more than one placement. This must be agreed by the Area Service Manager who will inform the relevant Area Director (as RBO) of the decision.

10. Recovering Overpayments

The definition of an overpayment is where a carer is paid an amount in excess of their service agreement/contractual entitlement.

All carers have a responsibility to notify their social worker and The Payments Team by phone/fax/post/email on the day a child leaves the placement or the next working day.

If a carer continues to receive payments after reporting that a child has left their care then they must contact The Payments Team immediately. Any overpayments must be repaid in full. Ending of placements must be reported to the child's Social Worker and the Children's Services payments section of Norfolk County Council using the contact details below.

The computer system will automatically recover all overpayments by making deductions from subsequent payments.

The system will attempt to recover the total overpayment from the next payment due, or where the overpayment amount exceeds normal payments for that period, from subsequent weeks until the overpayment has been recovered.

In certain circumstances, alternative recovery arrangements can be made subject to the agreement of the carer's supervising Social Worker and Team Manager. Any requests to vary or negotiate overpayments will be assessed on a case-by-case basis according to circumstances. Any final decision will be the responsibility of the Payments Team Manager. Where there are no further placements planned then an invoice will be issued.

Carer Surname Contact Number

A - J (01603) 222176

K - Z (01603) 222156

Leaving Care (01603) 222120

Fax Number (01603) 222505

Post

The Payments Team - Room 064

Children's Services

County Hall

Martineau Lane

NORWICH

NR1 2DL

Fostering Allowances and Expenses: Guidance Notes for Staff

Controls To Pay Level 5 Carers

The CH(F)4 document is completed and signed for approval to pay the carer at the higher Level 5 rate for all subsequent placements. Currently the fostering payments team receive these forms when the carer is approved or re-approved for accreditation.

If there are double placement costs (Level 5 higher and subsequent rate) for one young person a Service Agreement must be authorised and agreed by the Area Service Manager.

If there is a request to pay a foster carer the higher level 5 rate for all subsequent placements, a [Author ID1: at Tue Jan 12 09:11:00 2010 ]Service Agreement must be agreed and authorised by an Area Service Manager. [Author ID1: at Fri Jan 15 14:22:00 2010 ]

'Payment delivery is closely linked to foster carer satisfaction.  The efficiency of the payment systems, the respect foster carers are shown when they apply for funds and the way errors are resolved can feel as significant to foster carers as the level of the allowance itself.'

(DfES National Minimum Fostering Allowance 2006 p6)

The National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services 2002 state that:

Standard 29.1 'Each foster carer receives an allowance and agreed expenses which cover the full cost of caring for each child or young person placed with him or her. Payments are made properly and at the agreed time. Allowances and fees are reviewed

annually'.

Standard 29.2 'There is a written policy on fostering allowances. This, and the current allowance levels, are well publicised and provided annually to each carer. The carer receives clear information about the allowances and expenses payable and how to access them before a child is placed'.

Norfolk's Fostering Service is subject to annual inspection to ensure compliance with the standards.

Inconsistencies, delays and difficulties over the payment of expenses are the most frequently cited source of dissatisfaction amongst carers, both locally and nationally.

Good practice principles

In 2006 the DfES published 'National Minimum Fostering Allowances' which states:

'The following principles underpin efficiency and effectiveness in payment systems:

A national minimum

In July 06 the government published national minimum rates for fostering allowances for 07-08. The national minimum allowance was described as 'the basic core allowance that foster carers receive to cover the costs involved in looking after any fostered child'. The rate is intended to set a benchmark for payment rates to all foster carers. The actual level of allowance that any foster carer will receive will depend on a number of factors, in particular the specific needs of an individual child. The introduction of the national minimum allowance is therefore intended, in essence, to provide a safeguard for foster carers.

Norfolk's Fostering Allowances

The 'Basic Maintenance Allowance' (Level 1) for 10-11 on page 3 of this document is set at the revised National Minimum Allowance rate. The additional fees acknowledge the skills, experience and training of foster carers and should be disregarded in the calculations of expenses for the care of a particular child.

In some cases it may be appropriate to pay a double accreditation amount for a placement if the Young Person's placement would otherwise be under threat by placing another child with the carer. This must be agreed by the relevant Area Director for the young person.

Level 5 carers, may under certain criteria be paid at the higher rate for more than one placement. This must be agreed by the Service Development Manager, Specialist Services, who will inform the relevant Area Director (as RBO) of the decision.

'Former Relevant' Young People who continue to live with their Foster Carers

Please note:

[Author ID1: at Thu Dec 10 09:26:00 2009 ]

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