How Much Do Foster Parents Get Paid Per Child in Georgia?

Foster parents in Georgia are paid roughly $859 to $1,008 per child per month at the basic reimbursement rate, with the exact amount depending on the child’s age. The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) issues these payments to cover the child’s daily living costs, and separate allowances for clothing, medical care, childcare, and respite can add meaningfully to what a foster family actually receives.

Monthly Rates by Age

DFCS pays a daily board rate, or per diem, for each night the child spends in your home. As of July 1, 2024, the rates are:

Birth through age 5: $28.63 per day, about $859 per month
Ages 6 through 12: $30.89 per day, about $927 per month
Ages 13 and older: $33.60 per day, about $1,008 per month

These are increases from the prior schedule of $27.80, $29.99, and $32.62.¹ Monthly totals shift a little based on the number of days in the month.

What the Per Diem Is Meant to Cover

The per diem is a reimbursement for the child’s daily costs, not a wage. DFCS expects it to go toward food, a proportional share of housing and utilities, everyday clothing wear, personal hygiene, school supplies, and routine transportation. Some counties advise foster parents to plan on absorbing $75 to $90 per month in non-reimbursable items such as school fees and basic recreation.² Larger or one-time expenses like initial clothing, specialized medical care, and childcare are handled through separate programs described below.

Higher Rates for Children With Greater Needs

Children with significant medical, emotional, or behavioral needs can qualify for a specialized per diem that pays more than the basic rate. DFCS assigns a “Level of Care” to the child, and the daily payment rises with the intensity of care required.³ The specific dollar amounts are set by DFCS and change over time, so ask your caseworker for the current schedule if a child in your home may qualify.

Therapeutic foster care pays at the top of that spectrum. In these placements, the foster parent works as part of the child’s treatment team, follows a formal treatment plan at home, attends regular team meetings, and completes additional training beyond standard certification.⁴ The higher per diem reflects that added responsibility.

Clothing Allowances

Georgia adds two clothing allowances on top of the per diem:

Initial clothing allowance, paid once when the child arrives: $311 for children birth through age 12, and $415 for youth 13 and older
Annual clothing allowance: $690 per child each year

You buy the clothing and submit receipts for reimbursement through your monthly foster care invoice (Form 526).¹ Save every receipt. Without documentation, the reimbursement will not go through.

Benefits That Reduce Your Out-of-Pocket Costs

Medicaid Through Georgia Families 360°

Foster children are covered by Medicaid through Georgia Families 360°, which handles medical, dental, vision, behavioral health, and prescription coverage.⁵ In most cases you should not be paying for a foster child’s healthcare out of pocket.

Childcare Assistance (CAPS)

If you work or attend school, Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services program can subsidize daycare or after-school care for the foster child.⁶

WIC for Young Children

Foster children under five may qualify for WIC, which provides formula, food, and nutritional support. Federal rules require state WIC programs to plan for serving foster children.⁷

Respite Care

You can use up to five days of overnight respite and five days of daytime respite per child per fiscal year, with the child staying at an approved secondary foster home. You continue to receive your regular per diem for respite days up to that five-day limit, and the respite provider is separately paid at the child’s per diem rate.⁸

When Payments Actually Arrive

Reimbursement runs on a monthly invoice cycle. You submit Form 526 documenting each child’s per diem days, clothing purchases, and approved incidentals, and the invoice is generally due by the 25th of the month.² Payment for one month’s invoice typically arrives the following month.

Because of that lag, your first payment will not appear right after a placement. Plan on roughly four to six weeks before the initial reimbursement lands. Having a financial cushion for those first weeks is one of the more practical things to arrange before accepting a child.

Do You Pay Taxes on Foster Care Payments?

No. Foster care per diem payments, clothing allowances, and difficulty-of-care payments are excluded from your gross income under Section 131 of the Internal Revenue Code, as long as the child was placed through a state agency or licensed placement organization.⁹

There is one boundary worth flagging: the regular foster care exclusion applies to no more than five foster individuals age 19 or older in your home, and difficulty-of-care payments have a separate cap of ten individuals under 19 and five who are 19 or older.⁹ These limits will not affect a family fostering one to three children.

Dependents, Child Tax Credit, and EITC

A foster child placed by a government agency or court order who lives with you more than half the year can qualify as your dependent, which may open up the Child Tax Credit.¹⁰ A qualifying foster child can also make you eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit if the child lived with you in the United States more than half the year and was placed by a state or local government agency, tribal government, tax-exempt licensed organization, or court order.¹¹ Foster parents commonly overlook the EITC; check your eligibility if a child has been in your home since spring or earlier.

Support Does Not Stop at 18

Through Georgia’s Connected by 21 program (formally the Connections Extension of Foster Care), young adults aged 18 to 21 can choose to remain in care if they meet requirements such as staying enrolled in school or maintaining employment. About 75 percent of Georgia youth aging out of the system since 2014 have opted in.¹² If you are fostering a teenager approaching 18, financial support does not have to end at the birthday.

Costs Before the First Check

You will need to complete Georgia’s IMPACT certification, which includes 20 hours of pre-service training, before receiving any payments.¹³ The training itself is free, but expect modest out-of-pocket costs during licensing for items like fingerprinting and any adjustments needed to pass the home safety inspection. Ongoing training is also required after certification.

1
Georgia Department of Human Services. COSTAR 3001 – Family Foster Care Programs
2
Lumpkin County. Foster Care Reimbursement Policy
3
Georgia DFCS. Specialized Foster Care Per Diem
4
MACPAC. Mandated Report on Therapeutic Foster Care
5
Georgia Medicaid. Georgia Families 360
6
Georgia.gov. Apply for Childcare and Parent Services CAPS Program
7
eCFR. 7 CFR Part 246 – Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children
8
Georgia Department of Human Services. Foster Care – Respite Care for Foster Parents
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 131 – Certain Foster Care Payments
10
Internal Revenue Service. Dependents
11
Internal Revenue Service. Qualifying Child Rules
12
Georgia Department of Human Services. Connected By 21
13
Georgia Division of Aging Services. Welcome to IMPACT Orientation