Foster parents can apply for government financial assistance to sustain the needs of the child. In order to receive that financial assistance, there are processes that need to be followed when applying for a foster care grant.
Before applying for a foster care grant for the child under your care, you need to make sure that you have gone through the necessary paperwork and process for the child to be under your care, then you will be able to start the process of applying for a foster care grant that will benefit the needs of the child.
The right time to apply for the grant is once permission has been granted through a court order that has placed the child in your care.
It is mandatory that applicants carry this court order along with other required documents to your nearest Sassa office to apply for the grant.
There are different dates on which social grants are applied for at regional offices. Sassa officials work with foster care grants on Thursdays
You need to first make sure that you meet the following requirements to foster a child:
- 18 years or older
- Fit and proper
- Willing and able to look after the child
- Able to provide a favourable environment for the child’s growth and development.
For a child to be fostered, they need to be under 18 years of age and a number of additional factors are closely looked at to make sure that they meet the requirements to be fostered.
To be able to obtain a court that will permit the child to be under your care, you need to make an application through the Department of Social Development (DSD) or an accredited child protection organisation.
How long these cases take, depends on the nature of the case. Once everything has been concluded, you will then receive a court number from a DSD social worker and then you may start applying for the foster care grant.
For further information on foster care grants, read here.
Read Also: How to Appeal R350 Grant Rejection | A Step-By-Step Guide
