Foster Care Grant

The SASSA Foster Care Grant provides financial support to foster parents who have been legally appointed by a South African Children's Court to care for a child who cannot live with their biological parents. The most important thing to understand is that there is no income means test for this grant. The amount you receive is based on the child's needs and the existence of a valid court order — not on what you earn. In 2026 the grant pays R1,300 per month for each foster child in your care.

What the Foster Care Grant Is

A foster care grant is a court-order-based grant. SASSA pays it to the foster parent or caregiver because a court has decided the child must live with someone other than the biological parents. Because the payment follows a court order rather than a household income test, a foster parent who is wealthy receives the same amount as one who is poor, as long as the court order is valid. This is what makes the foster care grant different from the Child Support Grant, which is paid to any caregiver subject to a means test.

Who Can Be a Foster Parent

• You must be a South African citizen, permanent resident, or refugee.
• A Children's Court must have formally placed the child in your foster care through a court order.
• You must be the person responsible for the child's day-to-day care and the child must live with you in South Africa.
• The child must be under 18 (the grant can be extended to 21 if the child is still in school or tertiary education).
• You cannot receive the grant for more than six children, unless the children are siblings or blood relations, or a court decides that exceeding six is in the best interests of the children.
• You can be a relative, a family friend, or an approved non-relative caregiver — what matters is the court order, not your relationship to the child.
• You cannot be a paid foster parent employed by an organisation for the same child and also receive the SASSA grant for that child.

Foster Care Grant vs Child Support Grant

Eligibility Criteria

The Children's Court Order — What You Need

The most important requirement for the Foster Care Grant is a valid Children's Court order. This is a legal document issued by the Children's Court that formally places the child in your care. You cannot apply for the grant without this order. The process to get one always starts with a social worker from the Department of Social Development (DSD) or a registered child protection organisation.

The court order names you as the foster parent and the child as the person placed in your care. Keep the original safe — SASSA will want to see it, and you will need it every time you renew. If the child's circumstances change (for example, a parent becomes able to care again, or the child needs to move), the social worker and the court handle that through a new order.

Required Documents

• Valid Children's Court foster placement order (original)— Must be current and not expired.
• Your original 13-digit ID or smart ID card
• The foster child's birth certificate (original)
• School attendance certificate or school report(optional)— Required for school-aged children.
• Proof of residence (utility bill or letter from ward councillor)
• Bank details (account confirmation letter)— Needed so SASSA can pay the grant to you.
• Death certificates of biological parents (if applicable)(optional)— Helps confirm the child's orphan status.

How to Apply

Because the grant depends on the court order, apply to SASSA as soon as you have the signed order in hand. If you wait, you may lose backpay for the period the child was already in your care under a valid order.

How the Grant Is Paid

The Foster Care Grant is paid to the foster parent or approved caregiver — the person named in the court order as responsible for the child. You choose how to receive the money, and the same payment methods apply as for other SASSA grants.

• Bank deposit: the money goes into your personal bank account. This is the safest and most common method.
• SASSA card: you can draw the grant at retail pay points such as Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Boxer, Checkers, and USave.
• Post Office: being phased out for grant payments — move to a bank account or SASSA card if you still collect this way.
• ATM: you can draw cash using your SASSA card.

Annual Review and the Court Order

The Foster Care Grant is reviewed every year because it is tied to the Children's Court order. SASSA will not keep paying once the court order expires, so the renewal of the court order is the renewal of the grant. Work with your social worker each year so the order is extended in time. This is the single most common reason foster parents lose the grant — they miss the annual renewal.

Renewal Process — Don't Let the Grant Expire

The Foster Care Grant is not permanent. It is linked to the validity of your Children's Court order, which is reviewed annually. You must renew the court order (through a social worker) each year, and SASSA continues the grant on the strength of the renewed order. Start early so there is no gap in payments.

What Happens When the Court Order Lapses

If the Children's Court order expires and has not been renewed, SASSA must stop the grant — even if the child is still living with you and nothing else has changed. The money stops from the expiry date. To restart it, you need a fresh or extended court order, after which you take it to SASSA and the grant can resume (backpay is not guaranteed for a period with no valid order, so renew on time).

What Happens When the Foster Child Turns 18

The Foster Care Grant normally stops when the child turns 18. However, if the child is still attending secondary school or tertiary education, the grant can be extended up to age 21. You need a social worker's recommendation and a school or university attendance letter. Apply for the extension before the child's 18th birthday to avoid a gap in payments.

Suspension and Cancellation

• The Children's Court order expired and was not renewed.
• The child no longer lives with you or is no longer in your care.
• The child turns 18 (or 21, if still studying) with no extension granted.
• SASSA finds the court order was invalid or obtained on wrong information.
• The child is adopted — adoption ends the foster care grant.
• You are a paid foster parent through an organisation for the same child.

If your grant is suspended or cancelled, SASSA should tell you why. If you believe it was a mistake — for example the order is still valid and was simply not submitted in time — take the proof to your SASSA office and ask for it to be reinstated.

Appeals

If your Foster Care Grant application is declined, the appeal goes to the Independent Tribunal for Social Assistance Appeals (ITSAA), the same independent body that reviews other SASSA grant decisions. For non-SRD grants you can also submit a written appeal through a SASSA office or to the Ministry of Social Development. A social worker can help you prepare the appeal.

Foster Care vs Child Support vs Kinship Care

Beware of Foster Care Grant Scams

• Never share your SASSA card PIN, portal password, or OTP with anyone.
• The court order comes from the Children's Court via a social worker — not from someone who messages you offering to 'arrange' one for a fee.
• Apply and renew only through official SASSA offices and DSD social workers.
• Check your payment status only on official sites such as services.sassa.gov.za.
• Ignore social media posts or WhatsApp messages promising faster foster care grants for a payment.

Kinship Care and Relative Caregivers

Many children are raised by grandparents, aunts, uncles, or other relatives without ever going through a Children's Court. This is often called kinship care or relative care. If there is no formal court order, the relative is usually not a foster parent in the legal sense and cannot get the Foster Care Grant. Instead, the relative applies for the Child Support Grant (with its orphan top-up where the parents have died), which is means-tested. The court order is the line that separates foster care from kinship care — and only foster care carries the R1,300 amount with no means test.

If a relative believes the child cannot be safely returned to the parents, the route into foster care is the same as for any other caregiver: involve a DSD social worker, who assesses the situation and asks the Children's Court to make a foster order. Relatives are commonly appointed as foster parents, and being a family member does not disqualify you. What qualifies you is the court order and the child living in your care in South Africa.

Adoption Compared to Foster Care

Foster care and adoption are different legal steps with different money outcomes. Foster care is a court placement that can be temporary or reviewed, and it carries the SASSA Foster Care Grant while the order is valid. Adoption makes you the child's legal parent permanently; once an adoption is final, the Foster Care Grant stops because the child is no longer a foster child but your own child. Adoptive parents take on full financial responsibility, and there is no automatic SASSA grant that replaces the foster care payment after adoption.

Because adoption ends the grant, think carefully before starting adoption if the foster care grant is what supports the child's care. Speak to your social worker about the long-term plan for the child. Sometimes a child remains in foster care for years precisely because the court has not ended the parents' rights and an adoption is not on the cards. Keep the annual court-order renewal going for as long as the placement is a foster placement.

Caring for More Than One Foster Child

You can receive the Foster Care Grant for more than one child, and each child is paid separately at R1,300 per month. The important rule is that each child needs their own Children's Court order. You cannot cover three children with one order. When you renew, renew each order, and take each renewed order to SASSA so every child's payment continues. If a new child is placed with you, start the court process and the SASSA application for that child as soon as the order is signed.

The grant normally ends at 18, but the extension to 21 for learners is worth planning for. Well before the child's 18th birthday, ask the social worker for a recommendation and get a current school or tertiary attendance letter. Hand both to SASSA so the payment bridges the 18th birthday without a gap. If the child leaves school before 18 with no further study, the grant ends at 18 as usual.

If the biological parents become able to care for the child again, the social worker and the court review the placement. The court may end the foster order, and when it ends the Foster Care Grant stops. This is not a penalty — it reflects that the child has returned to parental care. If the return is only temporary, keep the order and the renewal current so the grant is there when the child is back with you.

If SASSA Says the Court Order Is Invalid

Sometimes SASSA refuses or stops the grant because the court order does not look valid — for example it is expired, it names a different caregiver, or it was not a proper Children's Court order. In that case the fix is almost always through the court and the social worker, not by arguing with the SASSA officer. Ask the social worker to confirm the order is the correct type and still in force, get a fresh or corrected order if needed, and take it back to SASSA. If you believe SASSA applied the rule wrongly, appeal to the ITSAA with the order and a social worker letter.

The Foster Care Grant is paid for the child's care, and you are expected to use it for the child's needs — food, clothing, school costs, and so on. Because there is no means test, a foster parent with higher income still receives the full amount; this reflects that the payment follows the court's placement decision rather than your wallet. Keep simple records of how the child is supported so you can show the social worker during the annual review that the placement is working.

If a foster care payment is late or missing, check your status on the official SASSA services portal before going to an office. The usual cause is a lapsed or unrenewed court order, a bank detail problem, or the gold-to-black card swap. Renew the court order with your social worker and take it to SASSA, update your bank details at the office, or complete the card swap. Have your reference number and the court order handy — they make any query at the office much faster.

In some cases the foster parent cannot manage the money themselves — for example they are very ill or otherwise unable. SASSA can pay the grant to an appointed person or, through the social worker, make arrangements so the child's care is still funded. This is decided with SASSA and the social worker, not by a private agreement between family members. If you think an appointee is needed, raise it at the SASSA office and with the social worker who handles the court order, and keep the child's best interest at the centre of the arrangement.

A related route is legal guardianship, where a court appoints you as the child's guardian without it being a foster placement. Guardianship and foster care are different: a foster order is specifically what unlocks the Foster Care Grant, while guardianship on its own does not. If you have guardianship but no foster order, you would normally use the means-tested Child Support Grant for the child. If you are unsure which legal status you hold, ask the social worker or the Children's Court clerk — the type of order you have decides which grant you can claim.

Frequently Asked Questions