Foster parents in Virginia receive a monthly maintenance payment of $563 to $836 per child, with the exact amount set by the child’s age. Children with higher care needs can generate additional daily payments on top of that base rate, and the money is generally not treated as taxable income.
Monthly Payment Rates by Age
Virginia uses a single statewide rate schedule tied to the child’s age. Under the rates effective July 2024 and still in effect through the current guidance period, foster parents receive:
- $563 per month for children ages 0 through 4
- $658 per month for children ages 5 through 12
- $836 per month for children ages 13 and older
Each payment covers room and board, clothing, personal care, recreation, and reading costs. Children ages 5 and older also have a small personal allowance built into the total: $12 a month for ages 5 through 12, and $37 a month for ages 13 and up.1Virginia Department of Social Services. Child and Family Services Manual – Funding Maintenance Costs (April 2026)
Under Virginia’s regulatory definition, the maintenance payment is meant to cover food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision, school supplies, personal incidentals, liability insurance for the child, and reasonable travel for family visits or keeping the child in the same school.2Virginia Department of Legislative Services. 22 VAC 40 – Funding Maintenance Costs These rates apply to traditional foster homes. Youth in independent living arrangements can receive up to $800 per month.1Virginia Department of Social Services. Child and Family Services Manual – Funding Maintenance Costs (April 2026)
When a child has a birthday that moves them into a higher age bracket, the new rate starts on the first of the following month.
Enhanced Payments for Higher Care Needs
The base rates assume a child with typical care needs. Many children in foster care have emotional, behavioral, or physical challenges that require more time and attention, and Virginia uses the Virginia Enhanced Maintenance Assessment Tool (VEMAT) to decide whether a child qualifies for additional daily payments on top of the base rate.3Virginia Department of Social Services. Virginia Enhanced Maintenance Assessment Tool VEMAT Form
The VEMAT scores a child across three domains: social and emotional care needs, behavioral and developmental care needs, and physical or personal care needs. Within each domain, specific characteristics are rated as not applicable, mild (4 points), moderate (8 points), or severe (12 points). A child can score up to 12 points per domain, with a maximum of 36 points across all three. Children with catastrophic physical needs can score higher in the physical domain alone when the other two domains don’t apply.3Virginia Department of Social Services. Virginia Enhanced Maintenance Assessment Tool VEMAT Form
The enhanced maintenance payment is determined directly by that score. When a child first enters the system or transitions from residential care, the local Department of Social Services pays an emergency enhanced rate and then completes the VEMAT within 60 days. If the assessed result differs from the emergency rate, the adjusted payment begins on the first of the following month.4Virginia Department of Social Services. Child and Family Services Manual – Funding Maintenance Costs
Annual Clothing Allowance
On top of the clothing money already inside the monthly payment, Virginia pays a separate annual supplemental clothing allowance:
- $376 per year for children ages 0 through 4
- $471 per year for children ages 5 through 12
- $564 per year for children ages 13 and older
These figures come from Virginia’s current funding guidance.1Virginia Department of Social Services. Child and Family Services Manual – Funding Maintenance Costs (April 2026) A bill introduced during the 2026 General Assembly session (HB 1174) would have raised these amounts by 30 percent, but the legislation did not pass.5Virginia State Legislative Information System. Virginia HB1174 – Children in Foster Care Supplemental Clothing Allowance Rate Increase
Are Foster Care Payments Taxable in Virginia?
Generally, no. Federal law excludes “qualified foster care payments” from gross income entirely.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 131 – Certain Foster Care Payments Because Virginia’s payments are structured as reimbursements for a child’s living expenses rather than compensation for services, they fall within that exclusion.
The exclusion covers both the base maintenance payment and difficulty-of-care payments (including the VEMAT enhanced rates) for children living in your home. There are caps: you can exclude payments for up to 10 foster children under age 19, or up to five who are 19 or older. Most families never come close to those limits. In practice, you generally don’t need to report these payments on your federal return at all.
What Else Comes With the Payment
The cash rate is not the whole picture. Several other benefits attach to placement.
Medicaid Coverage
Every child in Virginia’s foster care system is eligible for Medicaid, which covers medical, dental, and mental health services. Foster parents don’t need to buy private health insurance for the child or worry about co-pays for covered services. Coverage continues automatically as long as the child is in care.
Education Support
Once a foster youth is old enough to think about school after high school, several programs help pay for it. The Education and Training Voucher program provides financial assistance for post-secondary education and training expenses for teens and young adults who are in or were formerly in foster care. The Community College Tuition Grant covers tuition and fees at any Virginia community college for graduates or GED completers who were in foster care, in social services custody, or in a special needs adoption when they finished school.7Foster My Future. Education and Training Resources Great Expectations connects current and former foster youth at Virginia’s community colleges with financial aid, scholarships, and campus resources.8Great Expectations. Great Expectations
Local social services offices may also help cover school-related costs during K–12, though specifics vary by locality.
Continued Payments Past Age 18
Virginia’s Fostering Futures program lets young adults who were in foster care at 18 keep receiving services and financial support through age 21. Participation is voluntary. To qualify, the young adult must be completing secondary education, enrolled in post-secondary or vocational education, working at least 80 hours per month, participating in an employment-readiness program, or unable to do any of those because of a documented medical condition. Participants continue to receive maintenance payments at no less than the rate they had before turning 18, along with Medicaid and case management.9Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 63.2 Chapter 9 – Article 2 Fostering Futures
For a foster parent, that means a young adult who stays in your home past 18 can keep generating the same maintenance payment if they choose to participate and meet the eligibility rules.
When and How the Money Arrives
Maintenance is paid directly to the foster parent by the child-placing agency each month. When a child first enters your home, room and board is prorated from the first day of placement based on the days remaining in the month. If a child leaves mid-month, you’re paid through the day before the removal date.4Virginia Department of Social Services. Child and Family Services Manual – Funding Maintenance Costs
Some agencies use direct deposit, others issue checks. The method depends on your local DSS office or private child-placing agency. You may need to submit documentation for certain reimbursable expenses like transportation or daycare paid out of pocket, but the base monthly payment itself doesn’t require receipts.