For a lot of foster carers, the allowance is of secondary significance in comparison to the actual work they do to help children in need. Nevertheless, maintaining a healthy source of income is as essential to the welfare of those children as it is for their own. This raises the question: is it possible to maintain an alternate source of income while you are fostering? Let’s try and answer that question in important detail next.
It Depends on How Many Hours You Must Work Each Day
The first and most important point to clarify in this regard is that if you are a foster carer, you are expected to prioritize your time towards the care of foster children over all other professional commitments. In other words, the daily hours must be dedicated towards the care of foster children first, and your business second. Unless you can share parental responsibilities with a partner.
As long as you can maintain that order of priority, there is no reason why you would not be able to run a business and work as a foster carer. Established business owners are more likely to find time for both their business and their fostering duties than those who are only just starting out. It always takes more time and effort when you are trying to launch and then establish a venture.
Depends On the Kind of Foster Care You Provide
There are various types of foster care that a qualifying adult can provide. If you are in charge of a business and you plan to work on it even after becoming a foster care provider, then you should go through your options and choose carefully. For example, short-term fostering generally involves taking care of a foster child for anything from one night to two years. After that, the short-term carer will receive a break before a new child is put under their care again.
Long-term fostering is often a better arrangement for small business owners, as their business can grow while the relationship with their foster child develops. If that sounds like something that you can work with, visit orangegrovefostercare.co.uk for more information on how short-term foster care works.
It Depends on the Children’s Needs
Older teenagers who are close to maturity generally need less caring for than younger children and toddlers for obvious reasons. Age does not mean much though if you are a specialist care provider for children with physical and/or psychological disabilities.
Therefore, it all comes down to the children under your care and their needs. It is possible to run a business and keep working as a responsible foster care provider if the foster children’s needs are not compromised in that attempt.
Talk with your IFA/LA and discuss the situation. It is possible that they might be able to set you up with children whose needs you are best equipped to deal with, despite having a business of your own.
