NWT Foster Care Rates and Per Diem Payments Explained

The question that stops most prospective NWT foster parents is the financial one — not "will I be paid?" but "will what I'm paid actually cover what it costs to raise a child here?" In a territory where a litre of milk can cost more than $15 in a remote fly-in community, that question is not abstract. The NWT has built its per-diem structure to reflect this reality, but understanding how it works takes more than a glance at the posted rate table.

How the NWT Per Diem System Works

Foster care in the NWT is funded through a daily maintenance rate — the per diem — paid by the Department of Health and Social Services to licensed foster parents for each child in their care. In 2024, the GNWT announced a retroactive increase to these rates to ensure caregivers are not financially burdened by the cost of northern living.

Unlike most southern provinces that use a flat rate adjusted only by child age or needs level, the NWT adjusts its base rate by community. Each community's rate is indexed to its relative cost of living — its position on the Consumer Price Index compared to Yellowknife, which serves as the baseline.

This means a foster parent in Sachs Harbour — one of the most remote communities in the territory, accessible only by air — receives a substantially higher per diem than a foster parent in Yellowknife, because the actual cost of feeding, clothing, and housing a child in Sachs Harbour is far higher.

Per Diem Rates by Community (2024-2025)

Yellowknife / Dettah / Ndilǫ: $33.00/day
Hay River / Enterprise: $41.00/day
Fort Resolution: $48.00/day
Behchokǫ̀: $47.00/day
Fort Simpson: $49.00/day
Inuvik / Tuktoyaktuk: $52.00/day
Colville Lake: $60.00/day
Paulatuk: $62.00/day
Sachs Harbour: $65.00/day

For communities not listed above, your regional social services office will confirm the applicable rate for your specific location. The full table is published by the Department of Health and Social Services and is updated periodically.

Age-Based Supplements

On top of the community base rate, foster parents receive a daily age supplement:

• Ages 0–5: +$6.00/day
• Ages 6–12: +$5.00/day
• Ages 13–18: +$7.00/day

A foster parent in Inuvik caring for a teenager would receive $52.00 + $7.00 = $59.00 per day. In Sachs Harbour, that same placement would be $65.00 + $7.00 = $72.00 per day.

On a monthly basis, that ranges from roughly $1,770/month in Yellowknife for a child under 6, to over $2,200/month in Sachs Harbour for a teenager.

Does the Per Diem Actually Cover Costs?

This is where the NWT's financial picture gets more complex. The per-diem structure is designed to cover the child's maintenance costs — food, clothing, basic supplies, and a reasonable contribution to household utilities. It is not designed to compensate you for your time. Foster parenting is not a wage-earning employment arrangement, and the per diem should not be thought of as income.

The honest answer to whether it covers costs depends on your community.

In Yellowknife: The $33–$40/day range is workable for a child's basic maintenance, given that Yellowknife's food prices, while higher than southern cities, are significantly lower than remote communities. Housing costs are high in Yellowknife by northern standards, but the per diem is not expected to cover rent — it covers the incremental cost of adding a child.

In Inuvik: At $52/day, the per diem accounts for the reality that a chicken in Inuvik costs approximately twice what it costs in Yellowknife. Families who have been fostering in the Beaufort-Delta region for years generally report that the rate is adequate for food and supplies, but that non-food costs — winter clothing, school supplies, medical travel — are where the margin gets thin.

In Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, and remote fly-in communities: The $60–$65/day rates exist because the cost of food in these communities can be 197% or more of the Yellowknife baseline. A loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, a jug of milk — every grocery item arrives by charter flight and is priced accordingly. The higher per-diem rates are not generous supplementation; they are an attempt to reflect reality. Foster parents in these communities should build a detailed household budget using actual local food prices before accepting a placement.

Allowances Beyond the Per Diem

The per diem is the baseline, but it is not the only financial support available.

Clothing allowance. An initial clothing allowance is provided at the time of placement to cover the cost of outfitting a child who arrives with few or no appropriate clothes. In the NWT context, this specifically accounts for high-cost northern winter gear — parkas, ski pants, insulated boots. Seasonal supplements are available as the child grows or as the season changes.

Specialized needs funding. If a child in your care has a disability, a chronic medical condition, or complex behavioural needs, a specialized needs assessment can be completed to access Level 2 or Level 3 daily rates — significantly higher than the baseline community rate. Your social worker initiates this assessment; you do not need to request it independently, though it is reasonable to ask if you believe the child's needs exceed the standard per-diem level.

Medical and dental. NWT Health coverage applies to all children in care. For needs beyond standard coverage — specialized dental work, orthodontics, mental health services, physiotherapy — additional funding can be accessed through HSS. Your child welfare worker is the conduit for these requests.

Travel costs. If a child placed in your home needs to attend medical appointments, family visits, or court appearances in another community, HSS covers transportation costs. This is particularly relevant for remote placements where inter-community travel is by chartered aircraft.

Respite care. Foster parents in the NWT are entitled to respite care — short-interval relief (typically weekend placements) during which another licensed caregiver takes over. This does not directly affect your per-diem payments, but it is part of the financial and emotional sustainability model for long-term foster caregivers.

What the Per Diem Does Not Cover

Clarity on this prevents financial surprises. The per diem does not supplement your personal housing costs, your own food budget, your vehicle or fuel costs, or your income. It is a child-specific maintenance payment.

For caregivers in communities with no road access, the cost of getting to and from Yellowknife for medical appointments, training, or personal travel is not covered by the fostering arrangement unless the travel is specifically for the child in care.

The per diem is also not guaranteed income in the way employment income is — if a placement ends or a child is reunified with their family, the payments cease. Financial planning for fostering should treat the per diem as variable and child-specific, not as a stable household income stream.

The Real Financial Picture

Fostering in the NWT is financially viable — the per-diem structure is more generous than many southern provinces, reflecting the genuine cost of northern living. But it requires honest budgeting specific to your community.

The Northwest Territories Foster Care Guide includes a community-indexed cost-of-living breakdown that maps actual food and supply costs against per-diem rates for NWT's major communities, so you can calculate a real-world household budget before committing — not a theoretical one based on Yellowknife grocery prices applied to a Paulatuk reality.

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