Can you Foster parent in Fl on a tight budget?

The stipend from the state is expected to cover the "average" monthly needs of a child "that age" that has been placed in a particular "needs category". The stipend is expected to cover the child's food consumption, clothing needs, transportation costs, utilities usage, school supplies, toys, and prescribed medical needs. It will NOT cover the start-up costs of: a room in your house, a bed, a closet, changes to your house that may include adding stair railings or fire extinguishers or cabinet locks, any licencing or training costs not given free (like getting CPR on your own or ordering your birth certificate from out of state), a few emergency outfits for a child who arrives in nothing but PJs, etc. Some states and agencies reimburse the foster parents for the cost of daycare, the extra cost of getting a child who came with nothing set up with a starter wardrobe, and the transportation costs of getting a child to special school or doctors' appointments. And others don't cover those. And, the state is *rarely* sympathetic or helpful if you overspend the amount you are going to receive for the child. If the state offers $75 for clothes to start school in, and you insist the most basic wardrobe at the cheapest place would cost $100, you have to provide that extra $25 or give your foster child less than you think he/she should have. If the state offers $200 per month for the child's subsidy, and diapers alone cost $220, you either have to come up with the extra $20 for diapers, deal with cheaper ones that leak, or hope and pray your state offers an extra diaper subsidy if you can figure out the right words to use to ask for it. And, dont forget everything is done on a "reimbursement" schedule. You'll spend money from the 1st of August to the 31st of August, and if your state is one of the quick ones, you'll get your check from the state on the 15th of September. So you definately have to have enough money to start with. All that together means... Maybe. How's that for helpful? If you're able to afford all the startup costs, and afford the costs of training, and afford to pay for things a full month or more before you get reimbursed by the state, then yes it's possible to foster a child on a very limited income. But if you're a bad money manager, or unable to scrape up enough money to set up a child's room, or couldn't wait 6 weeks for a reimbursal check, etc, then it probably would not be possible to foster a child. If you can figure out the actual numbers you're dealing with - your monthly income, how much is left over each month, what percentage of the poverty level your family lives at, etc, then you can probably call your local DSS office and get a straight answer. Most have a standard they go by, and they may be able to explain how they arrive at that over the telephone so you can see if you fit in it or not. Good luck!