Check the Foster Child Grant
R1,290 per child · court order required
This is an independent estimate based on published SASSA rules and does not guarantee approval. Always confirm and apply through official SASSA channels.
The Foster Child Grant pays R1,290 per child placed in your care by a court. Enter your details to estimate your total monthly payment.
R1,290 per child · court order required
This is an independent estimate based on published SASSA rules and does not guarantee approval. Always confirm and apply through official SASSA channels.
The grant is paid for each child placed in your foster care, so two children means 2 × R1,290 = R2,500 per month.
Unlike the Child Support Grant, the Foster Child Grant requires a formal court order placing the child with you, usually arranged through a social worker.
The foster parent's income is not tested for this grant, because it supports a child in the care system rather than the household.
The Foster Child Grant supports a child who has been placed in the care of a foster parent by order of a children's court. It is paid at R1,290 per child per month and is intended to help the foster parent meet the cost of raising a child who cannot be cared for by their own family. Because it follows a formal court process, it is a very different grant from the Child Support Grant, even though both involve caring for a child.
The single most important thing to understand about this grant is that it requires a court order. You cannot simply apply because a child lives with you and needs support. A social worker must investigate, and the children's court must formally place the child in your foster care. Only once that order exists can SASSA pay the grant. The calculator above helps you estimate the amount and understand the steps, but the grant itself hinges on that legal placement.
There is one big advantage that flows from the court process: the Foster Child Grant has no means test. Your income and assets are not examined at all. The state has already decided, through the court, that this child needs formal foster care, so the grant is paid to support that placement regardless of what the foster parent earns.
Many families confuse these two grants because both help someone look after a child. They are genuinely different, and choosing the wrong route wastes time. This comparison makes the differences clear.
| Feature | Foster Child Grant | Child Support Grant |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly amount | R1,290 per child | R580 per child |
| Court order required | Yes — children's court | No |
| Social worker involved | Yes | No |
| Means test | None | R5,800 single / R11,600 married |
| Who applies | Court-appointed foster parent | Primary caregiver |
| How you apply | After court placement, at a SASSA office | Directly at a SASSA office |
| Typical timeline | Weeks to months (court process) | Usually a few weeks |
The Foster Child Grant pays more than double the Child Support Grant, but it is only available where a court has legally removed the child from parental care and placed them with a foster parent. If a child simply lives with a relative without any court involvement, the correct grant is usually the Child Support Grant, not the Foster Child Grant. You can estimate that alternative with the child support calculator, and our srd vs child support guide compares the child-focused grants more broadly.
A foster placement is a legal event, not just a living arrangement. It means a children's court has found that a child is in need of care and protection and has formally placed them in the care of a specific foster parent for a set period. This is what unlocks the grant.
The Foster Child Grant is part of the child-protection system. Because it pays more than the Child Support Grant and carries no means test, the state requires a formal, supervised process to confirm that the child genuinely needs alternative care. A social worker investigates the child's circumstances, and the court makes the placement decision after considering the social worker's report. This protects children and guards the grant against misuse.
A foster parent may be a relative — a grandmother, aunt or uncle — or a suitable non-relative approved by the court. Being a relative does not remove the need for the court order; even a grandmother raising an orphaned grandchild must go through the children's court to receive the Foster Child Grant, though she could instead claim the simpler Child Support Grant without a court order.
Because two systems are involved — the child-protection system and the grant system — the process has two phases. First you obtain the court placement; then you claim the grant.
Once approved, the grant is usually backdated to the application date. Our apply for the Foster Child Grant guide walks through both phases in more detail, and apply online vs in person explains why this grant must be handled at an office rather than online.
The court order is the centrepiece, but SASSA still needs to confirm your identity and set up payment. Bring:
You do not need to prove your income, because there is no means test. If any document is missing, ask the SASSA official what alternatives are acceptable rather than giving up. Our documents for a SASSA grant checklist covers the general items, and the court will have supplied the placement paperwork.
This is the part of the Foster Child Grant that catches the most families out. A foster care placement order is not permanent — it is granted for a set period and must be reviewed and extended by the children's court before it expires. When the order lapses, the grant can stop, even though the child is still living with you and still needs support.
Courts and social workers carry heavy caseloads, and reviews are sometimes not scheduled in time. If a placement order expires before the court has reviewed it, SASSA has no valid legal basis to keep paying, and the grant is suspended. This has affected large numbers of foster parents in South Africa and is a well-known weakness in the system.
If your grant stops because the order lapsed, this is usually a paperwork problem, not a decision that the child no longer qualifies. Getting the order extended is the route back to payment.
After her daughter died, Gogo Thandi took in her two grandchildren. A social worker investigated and the children's court placed both children in her foster care. She receives R1,290 per child, or R2,500 a month. Her own income is never tested. Had she not gone through the court, she could still have claimed the Child Support Grant of R580 per child instead — far less, which is why the court route matters here.
Mr and Mrs Dlamini earn a comfortable combined income and were approved by the children's court to foster a child removed from an unsafe home. Because the Foster Child Grant has no means test, their income does not disqualify them. They receive R1,290 a month for the child. If they had tried to claim the Child Support Grant instead, their income would likely have exceeded the R5,800 or R11,600 limit and they would have been declined.
Nomvula has fostered a child for three years. Her placement order expired in the middle of the year and the review had not yet been scheduled, so her R1,290 payment stopped. She contacted her social worker, the court reviewed and extended the order, and she took the new order to SASSA. Her grant was reinstated. The gap could have been avoided had the review been started before the order expired.
Lindiwe cares for her late sister's child but no court order has been made. As things stand she cannot claim the Foster Child Grant, because there is no placement order. She has two choices: claim the Child Support Grant of R580 now (no court needed), or approach a social worker to begin the foster-care process for the higher R1,290 grant. Many families in her position claim Child Support in the meantime and pursue foster care in parallel.
Like the Child Support Grant, the Foster Child Grant is a child grant, so it does not clash with the one-personal-grant-per-person rule. A foster parent can receive their own personal grant and Foster Child Grants for the children in their care at the same time.
Our can you get multiple grants guide sets out all the combining rules, and the means test calculator helps with any personal grant you might also claim.
The two people who can move a foster-care matter forward are your social worker and the children's court. For the grant side, call the SASSA toll-free line on 0800 60 10 11 or visit a SASSA local office. Our SASSA contact details guide lists the ways to reach them.
This is an independent helper site and is not affiliated with SASSA, the courts or the government. Always confirm the current process and grant figures at SASSA or on 0800 60 10 11, and work through a registered social worker for the court placement.