Clothing allowance

[wesleycrusher]

DD

[ceejay]

My agency is very lax about the clothing allowance. In fact, I don't think they've ever mentioned to us how much we're supposed to spend each month on clothes... The only way I know about the clothing allowance is that I either looked it up for myself online or maybe learned about it in our PRIDE training classes? I can't even recall the exact amount but I think it's in the $30-50 per month per kid range.

Like you, I find that to be WAY more than I need to spend for clothes for our foster sons. We've received a lot of gently used clothes from friends, and I always shop clearance sales and use coupons when I buy things new. I'm sure I don't spend anywhere near the official clothing allowance each month, but I've never been questioned about it or been asked for receipts. Maybe that would be different if our foster sons regularly looked unkempt or were wearing clothes that didn't fit them, but since they always look nice and put together, we aren't questioned?

Is there anything besides day to day clothing that you could use the allowance for? Like sports gear, pull-ups if you still need those, etc? If your case does go to adoption, do the support checks and clothing allowance continue or not after adoption? If not, it might be nice to buy clothes for future sizes so that they will be available when he grows into them.

[butlerfan]

Ours is a flat amount of $250 when they first come into care or reenter care after I think 4 months. It can be all spent at once or spread out. You get reimbursed for it once you turn in receipt. If a prior foster family didn't spend the whole amount and they went to a new home the remaining amount would also follow.

[ceejay]

Dec 16, 2016 22:20:30 GMT -5 butlerfan said:

Ours is a flat amount of $250 when they first come into care or reenter care after I think 4 months. It can be all spent at once or spread out. You get reimbursed for it once you turn in receipt. If a prior foster family didn't spend the whole amount and they went to a new home the remaining amount would also follow.

We got this as well when we first got our boys, in addition to the regular monthly clothing allowance. I think it was $200-250 per child when they first entered care, to be used within the first few months. For this, we did have to turn in receipts and were only reimbursed for the amount we actually spent. I still had a hard time spending it all (given all the clothes we were gifted by friends) and ended up using a lot of it for diapers.

[lbey]

When my girl came to live with us she barely had anything so the county allowed us to spend 200 on clothing for her to help us get started. I paid 150 just on her winter coat! we are in MN and here, you can definitely spend that on clothes because as season changes you need different type of clothes...