Foster Care Allowances in Saskatchewan: Clothing, School Supplies, Medical Expenses, and Respite Rates
Foster Care Allowances in Saskatchewan: Clothing, School Supplies, Medical Expenses, and Respite Rates
Saskatchewan's basic foster care maintenance rates are designed to cover the fundamentals — food, shelter, and ordinary transportation. But the actual cost of raising a child includes clothing, school supplies, dental appointments, recreation fees, and the occasional need for respite. There are supplementary allowances for most of these, but many foster parents don't know they exist or how to access them.
The Basic Maintenance Rate
Before getting into supplementary allowances, it helps to understand the baseline. Saskatchewan's basic maintenance per diem varies by age and by region:
| Age Group | Southern Monthly Rate | Northern Monthly Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1 year | ~$573 | ~$608 |
| 1–5 years | ~$573 | ~$608 |
| 6–11 years | ~$603 | ~$679 |
| 12–15 years | ~$680 | ~$766 |
| 16+ years | ~$767 | ~$878 |
These rates are periodically reviewed and updated. The northern rate applies to foster homes in northern Saskatchewan and accounts for the higher cost of goods and services in remote communities.
The basic rate is intended to cover routine daily expenses. It is not meant to cover the supplementary categories below — those require separate requests or have dedicated funding streams.
Clothing Allowances
Every child entering care has immediate clothing needs — often arriving with very little. Saskatchewan provides initial and quarterly clothing allowances to cover this.
The initial clothing allowance covers the cost of equipping a child who arrives without appropriate clothing for the season. The quarterly allowance covers ongoing clothing needs as children grow and seasons change.
How to access it: Clothing allowance requests go through your child's caseworker. Keep receipts. The Ministry reimburses against documented expenses rather than paying a flat pre-set amount in most cases. Some regional offices have established per-item or per-season amounts — ask your caseworker what the current practice is in your region.
Practical note: clothing for school-age children who are growing, or for teenagers who have strong preferences, can outpace allowance amounts. The quarterly allowance is a floor, not a ceiling — if a child has specific needs (winter gear for a placement in a northern community, clothing for a specialized activity), document the need and request additional support.
School Supplies Allowance
In 2024, the Ministry of Social Services announced a $600,000 investment specifically targeted at school allowances, babysitting, and respite — a direct acknowledgment that these costs were inadequately covered under previous rate structures.
School supply funding covers back-to-school basics: notebooks, pencils, binders, backpacks, and grade-appropriate materials. For older students, this can extend to post-secondary application fees and supplies.
How to access it: Make the request through your caseworker before the school year starts. Don't wait until September — requests processed in advance are less likely to get delayed in administrative backlogs.
For children with special educational needs — an Individual Program Plan (IPP) or specific learning supports — there may be additional educational allowances available beyond the standard school supply budget. The school's learning resource teacher and your caseworker should both be part of this conversation.
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Medical and Dental Coverage
Children in foster care in Saskatchewan receive supplementary medical services through the Saskatchewan Health Authority. This covers prescriptions, dental care, and eye care beyond what the provincial health card covers.
Dental is often the area that surprises new foster parents — children in care frequently arrive without recent dental care, sometimes with significant unaddressed dental problems. The supplementary dental coverage is specifically designed to address this. Get the child enrolled with a dentist as early as possible and document any work done.
For prescriptions: The child's Saskatchewan health card number is required. If you don't have it when the child first arrives, it's a priority to obtain from your caseworker.
For specialized medical needs: Children with complex medical conditions — chronic illness, physical disability, mental health diagnoses requiring medication management — may need funding beyond the standard health coverage. This is coordinated through the caseworker and, for First Nations children, may involve Jordan's Principle funding requests to Indigenous Services Canada.
For Indigenous children specifically: Jordan's Principle is a federal legal rule ensuring First Nations children can access government-funded products and services without jurisdictional delays. For a child in your care who is a First Nations member, you can request Jordan's Principle funding for items not covered by provincial health services — speech therapy, specialized mental health support, traditional healing, and more. Your caseworker or the child's First Nations agency worker can initiate these applications.
Travel for medical appointments: The Ministry reimburses travel to medical or therapy appointments at provincial government rates — approximately $0.56 per kilometre as of recent rate schedules. Keep your mileage records for every appointment trip.
Respite Care Rates
Respite is funded separately from the basic maintenance per diem. Foster families have a respite budget that can be used to hire a licensed respite provider (another approved foster family or a licensed respite caregiver) to give them a break.
In 2024, the Ministry specifically invested in improving respite rates — a direct response to documented foster parent burnout and placement instability. Exact respite rates depend on the age of the child and whether you're using a licensed respite provider through MSS or arranging informal babysitting.
Using your respite budget: Contact your caseworker to understand how much respite funding is available for your placement and how to submit claims. Don't wait until you're at a breaking point to use it — regular respite prevents the burnout that leads to placement breakdowns, which is worse for everyone, especially the child.
Recreation and Extracurricular Activities
Foster children have the same developmental need for sports, music, art, and recreation as any child. The Ministry can provide funding for sports registration fees, music lessons, and camp costs on a case-by-case basis.
These requests require your caseworker's approval and are subject to Ministry discretion and available budget. Document the request in writing and explain the developmental benefit for the specific child. Requests framed around the child's Care Plan goals — building peer relationships, developing self-regulation skills through structured activity — are more likely to be approved than generic activity requests.
Getting What the Child Needs
The general principle: if a child in your care has a need, and the basic maintenance rate doesn't cover it, ask for supplementary support. The Ministry has funding streams for most legitimate expenses — the gap is usually that foster parents don't know to ask.
Keep documentation for everything: receipts, mileage logs, communication with caseworkers. This protects you and makes reimbursement processing faster.
The Saskatchewan Foster Care Guide includes a comprehensive financial support breakdown — maintenance rates by age and region, the PRIDE Levels of Pay structure, and a practical guide to supplementary allowance requests.
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