Love and Money: payment, motivation and the fostering task

Although the payment of foster carers has attracted greater attention in recent writing and research, coverage of the issues has been limited. In this study, based on interviews with 20 female carers, the place of payment within foster care is explored in greater depth. The focus is on charting how carers perceive their task as ‘parenting’ or ‘job’, whether and how they experience payment as compensation or as an appropriate reward for their skills. Also examined are the ways in which payment may impact upon the practice of foster care, for example in decision making over the taking or ending of placements and the provision of aftercare support for care leavers. The study highlights the distinctive nature of foster care as an institution that straddles the public and private domains, and examines the resulting complexities. It concludes by suggesting that while payment issues provide important threads that run throughout foster care, their influence is ultimately limited by the latter's base within the family.