NJ Foster Parent Stipend and Board Rates: What You Actually Get Paid

There is a question almost every New Jersey foster care applicant has and almost no one asks out loud at orientation: how much does this actually pay? The board payment is not income — CP&P is explicit that the stipend is intended to cover the child's specific needs, not to compensate the household. But understanding what you will receive, and what it covers, is part of making an honest decision about whether you can sustain a foster placement.

Here is what the rates look like and how the full financial picture works.

Monthly Board Rates by Age and Level

New Jersey's board payments are structured on a four-level acuity scale. Level A is the base rate for a typical child. Level D is for children with the highest support needs. Levels B and C fall in between based on CP&P's assessment of the child's individual needs.

These rates were established under the Embrella (formerly NJ FAFS) board rate schedule and reflect the levels that were in effect through the 2023-2024 period. New Jersey's 2025-2026 state budget includes significant increases in family support funding, so current rates may differ — confirm current figures directly with your RFSW or Embrella's published board rate FAQ.

What the Board Payment Is Supposed to Cover

The board rate is designed to cover the child's food, shelter, clothing, and day-to-day care costs. It is not a salary. The regulatory standard under N.J.A.C. 3A:51 requires that foster households be "economically independent of the board subsidy" — meaning CP&P will not license a household that depends on the board payment to meet its own basic expenses.

In practice, the base Level A rates — $763 to $907 per month depending on age — are sufficient to cover a child's direct costs in most New Jersey counties, but not by a large margin given the state's cost of living. Households fostering a child at Level A are typically absorbing some portion of the costs from their own income.

Children placed at Level C or D have significantly higher support needs and their rates reflect that.

Initial Clothing Allowance

When a child enters a new placement, CP&P issues a one-time initial clothing allowance to ensure the child has appropriate clothing regardless of what they arrived with. The current rates are:

• Ages 0–12: $250
• Ages 13–15: $275
• Ages 16–21: $300

This payment is issued directly to the resource family and is separate from the ongoing monthly board rate. It is intended for initial clothing needs at the time of placement — not for ongoing clothing expenses, which are expected to be covered within the monthly board rate.

Respite Care Reimbursement

Respite care allows resource families to take short breaks from caregiving while ensuring the child remains in a safe, licensed environment. New Jersey reimburses resource families for respite costs.

Current reimbursement rates are approximately:

• Self-hired respite workers: up to $28.24 per hour
• Agency-hired respite workers: up to $42.76 per hour

Respite is not unlimited. Families must coordinate respite arrangements through their RFSW and stay within CP&P's approved limits. The purpose is genuine caregiver recovery, not routine childcare.

Medical Coverage: NJ FamilyCare

Every child in New Jersey foster care is automatically enrolled in NJ FamilyCare, the state's Medicaid program. This covers:

• Medical and physician visits
• Dental care
• Mental health and behavioral health services
• Prescriptions
• Vision care

Resource families are not responsible for healthcare premiums, copays, or deductibles for covered services. This is one of the most significant financial supports in the NJ foster care system — children with complex medical or behavioral health needs, who would otherwise generate substantial out-of-pocket costs, are fully covered.

A 2024 New Jersey law (A4543) further protects children by prohibiting the state from using a foster child's federal benefits — such as SSI disability payments — to offset the cost of their care. Any federal benefits to which a child is entitled must now be conserved for the child's own future.

What Is Not Covered

The board rate and associated supports do not cover everything. Resource families are typically expected to provide:

• Transportation to school, medical appointments, and visits with birth family (though CP&P provides mileage reimbursement in many cases — confirm with your RFSW)
• Activities, hobbies, and extracurriculars beyond basic care (though NJ's "Normalcy Law" encourages age-appropriate activities without caseworker approval for each)
• Childcare costs when both caregivers are employed (the board rate does not include a childcare component for most placements)

How Payments Are Actually Made

Board payments are typically issued monthly via check or direct deposit, depending on your local CP&P office's processing system. Payment timing can vary — if your placement begins mid-month, the first payment is usually prorated.

One common frustration among NJ resource families is the lag between when a child is placed and when the first payment arrives. This gap — sometimes two to four weeks — is a known system issue. It is not a mistake; it reflects the payment processing timeline. Anticipating this delay financially before your first placement prevents it from becoming a crisis.

The "Income" Question

Foster care board payments are not taxable income under federal tax law — they are reimbursements for the cost of care. You do not report them as income on your federal return, and they do not affect your eligibility for income-based benefits. There are specific IRS rules around this, and the guidance is consistent: board payments for licensed foster children are not taxable.

If you adopt a child from foster care in New Jersey, adoption-related subsidies (including the New Jersey Title IV-E adoption assistance program) are also generally not taxable, though the specifics depend on the subsidy type and how the agreement is structured.

Is the Money a Reason to Foster?

This is the question CP&P's financial disclosure requirement is designed to answer. The honest answer is that New Jersey's board rates are adequate for a child's direct needs, not a source of household income. Families who expect fostering to meaningfully supplement household finances will be disappointed — and that expectation is a red flag that the licensing process is designed to surface.

The financial supports that do matter: NJ FamilyCare coverage is comprehensive and genuinely valuable, the initial clothing allowance prevents an out-of-pocket hit at placement, and the respite reimbursement makes sustained fostering more viable for families who use it.

Understanding the full picture — what you receive, what it covers, and what gap remains — is part of the honest preparation that the New Jersey Foster Care Licensing Guide at /us/new-jersey/foster-care/ walks through in detail.

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