The Foster Parents Fix Kit
Built for foster parents.
Foster parents spend real money caring for children, and the system around them has written rules about what is paid, what is reimbursed, and how the tax code treats it. The leaks I see are payments never reviewed when a child's needs change, costs never submitted, credits missed at tax time, and out-of-pocket costs nobody tracked. Each leak below starts from your own placement papers and receipts. Nothing here is about the children's care decisions; those stay with you and your agency. This kit finds where the money leaks in your own work and gives you the steps and the words to close each one.
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The 7 leaks it covers
1 you can close it · 2 the other side owes it · 4 a pro decides
- Monthly payment never reviewed when the child's needs changedWhere to look first: Find your placement agreement and the payment level it lists.Keep it from coming back: Keep a running log of the child's appointments, therapies and needs.The other side owes it
- Reimbursable costs never submittedWhere to look first: Ask your agency for its written list of what it reimburses or pays separately: clothing, mileage to visits, school fees, child care, activities, respite.Keep it from coming back: Submit receipts monthly.The other side owes it
- Foster payments reported as taxable income by mistakeWhere to look first: Foster care payments, including basic cost-of-care and difficulty-of-care payments, are generally not taxable income (VERIFIED: LawHelpMN federal tax fact sheet).Keep it from coming back: Give your preparer the agency payment statement every year with a note that it is foster care.A pro decides
- Child tax credit and earned income credit missed for a foster childWhere to look first: A foster child placed by an authorized agency or court who lived with you more than 6 months (VERIFIED: LawHelpMN) of the year can be a qualifying child.Keep it from coming back: Keep every placement and move date in one file.A pro decides
- Unreimbursed costs of caring for a foster child never trackedWhere to look first: Out-of-pocket costs of caring for a foster child that were not reimbursed may be claimed as a charitable contribution on Schedule A (VERIFIED: LawHelpMN).Keep it from coming back: Mark each receipt "reimbursed" or "not reimbursed" the day the agency pays.A pro decides
- Adoption from foster care without the special-needs adoption creditWhere to look first: If you adopt a child from foster care, ask the agency whether the child has been determined to have special needs for adoption assistance purposes.Keep it from coming back: Keep the determination, agreement and decree together.A pro decides
- No single record of payments, receipts and placement datesWhere to look first: Start one folder or spreadsheet per child.Keep it from coming back: Update it the day each payment or receipt arrives.You can close it
Free: one full leak from this kit
No sign-up, no email. Here is leak 1 of 7 exactly as it appears in the kit, so you can see what you get before you buy.
Monthly payment never reviewed when the child's needs changed
The other side owes it- Find your placement agreement and the payment level it lists.
- Write down any change in the child's needs since then: new diagnoses, therapy, behavior support, medical equipment, extra supervision.
- Ask your caseworker in writing how a level-of-care or difficulty-of-care review is requested.
- Send the request with the records that show the change.
- Rates and levels are set by each state and agency; your agency's answer is the number.
Your part: Gather the records and send the request.
Email to your caseworker: Hi [CASEWORKER NAME], [CHILD INITIALS] has been placed with us since [DATE] at the [LEVEL] payment level. Since then, [DESCRIBE CHANGES IN NEEDS, with dates]. Can you tell me how to request a review of the level of care, and what documents you need? Records attached. Thank you, [YOUR NAME]
Keep a running log of the child's appointments, therapies and needs.
What this kit can't decide for you: Payment levels are set by your state and agency. We do not decide them.
That's 1 of 7. The other 6 come the same way in the kit: steps, words to send, a habit to keep each one closed.
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What people in this work look up
When foster parents go looking for answers, they search things like “foster care payments”, “foster parent pay”, “foster care stipend” and “foster parent tax deductions”. Those searches turn up forms, averages and other people's numbers. This kit starts from your own records instead: the 7 places money leaks in this work, where to look first and the words to send to close each one.
What you get for each leak
- Numbered steps to close each leak
- Your part, spelled out
- Words you can use: letters and scripts, ready to send (fill in the brackets)
- A habit that keeps each leak from coming back
- An honest line on what the kit can't decide for you
A page from the kit
Questions people ask
Monthly payment never reviewed when the child's needs changed: where do I start?
Start here: Find your placement agreement and the payment level it lists. To keep it from coming back: Keep a running log of the child's appointments, therapies and needs.
Reimbursable costs never submitted: where do I start?
Start here: Ask your agency for its written list of what it reimburses or pays separately: clothing, mileage to visits, school fees, child care, activities, respite. To keep it from coming back: Submit receipts monthly.
Foster payments reported as taxable income by mistake: where do I start?
Start here: Foster care payments, including basic cost-of-care and difficulty-of-care payments, are generally not taxable income (VERIFIED: LawHelpMN federal tax fact sheet). To keep it from coming back: Give your preparer the agency payment statement every year with a note that it is foster care.
What it can't decide for you
This kit works from your own records. It doesn't give legal, tax, licensing or financial advice, and it never tells you what to charge. Where a CPA, attorney, insurer or state board makes the call, the kit says so and gets your records ready for them.
13-page PDF · instant download after payment · Code VYR-KIT-FOSTER-01
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
Next step
- Run your free LeakReceipts check — it reads your own receipts and records and shows where money is leaking out, line by line.
- TrueNET — the whole-picture money truth: what you actually keep after every cost, across everything you earn and spend.
Use Jobber or Housecall Pro? Run the free leak check — it reads your job export in your browser and shows the money leaks the software doesn't flag. Nothing is uploaded.