And the problem is undermining attempts to make foster carersprofessional members of the children's workforce.
Helen Sweet, a single parent foster carer in Bristol, told Children Now:"To continue claiming income support I have to attend interviews at mylocal job centre to encourage me back into work. I am told that if I donot attend them my benefits will be stopped. My work as a foster careris not recognised. It's quite insulting because I work seven days aweek, 24 hours a day as a foster carer with no holiday or sickleave."
Fostered children are also not counted when calculating housingbenefit.
"I live in a privately rented house for which I claim housing benefit,"said Sweet. "I recently tried to move to a bigger property to properlyaccommodate my current foster children and enable me to offer an extraplacement. However, I discovered that foster children were disregarded.This means I can only live in a property big enough for me and mychildren if I make up the shortfall in rent, which is very difficultwhen you're living on income support."
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