Foster Care Social Benefits
Foster care benefits payments are regulated by Act No. 359/1999 Coll. on the social and legal protection of children. To qualify for foster care benefits, foster care is considered to be childcare provided by:
(a) a person in the register – a person listed in the register of persons who can perform temporary foster care;
(b) the caregiver, i.e. the person
- who is a foster parent;
- who has been a child’s guardian until the child reaches the legal age, for as long as the dependent child is entitled to the child’s social benefits;
- which is authorized by the court or the social and legal protection of children authority to take care of the child during pending custody case and who wishes to become a foster parent for the duration of such custody;
- who is the guardian of the child but only if he/she personally take care of the child;
- who has the child in his / her personal care for whom he/she has no alimony obligation, for as long as the legal proceedings for the appointment of that person as a guardian are ongoing.
The social benefits of foster care are:
- allowance to cover the needs of the child;
- foster parent fee;
- a one-off financial contribution when accepting the child;
- contribution to the purchase of a private motor vehicle;
- contribution at the end of foster care.
In the case of joint foster care of the spouses, the foster parent’s fee is paid only to one of the spouses determined by agreement of the spouses. If the spouses do not agree on this matter, the competent regional branch of the Labor Office shall determine which of the spouses will be granted the foster care benefits. For the purposes of the laws governing income tax, social security insurance, accident insurance, accident insurance and general health insurance, the foster parent’s fee is treated as income from employment.