Benefits

Differences between Child Support Grant and Foster Child Grant

Get to know two of the largest income distribution programs for children in the country. Find out if you qualify for one of them!

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Find out which program can help your family

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Differences between Child Support Grant and Foster Child Grant. Source: Freepik

Child Support Grant and the Foster Child Grant are two of the largest federal aid projects in South Africa. Both exist to help needy families with children.

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Social grants: choose the right benefit for you

The federal government offers a large number of programs that financially help people in financial difficulties. Keep reading to learn more!

So you can probably count on one of these. Below, learn about the main differences between these programs to determine how they can help you.

Main differences between Child Support Grant and Foster Child Grant

Indeed, the Child Support Grant (CSG) and the Foster Child Grant (FCG) are projects aimed at helping needy families with children.

However, each of them caters to very different audiences of children.

The Child Support Grant provides financial assistance to all families with proven financial needs.

The Foster Child Grant Allowance is exclusively intended for permanently or definitively adopted children.

While the CSG offers R480 per child, the FCG can guarantee an additional income of up to R1,070.

What is the Child Support Grant?

Child Support Grant is a program created to offer financial support to needy families with children. The main idea of this pension is to help families with children’s basic needs.

Families can offer food, steal and invest in their children’s education through them. It is granted in the form of a monthly payment until the children reach the age of 18.

The amount granted to each family depends on the number of children it has. The base price is R480 per child.

In this way, a family with five children can receive a monthly allowance of R2,400.00.

Below, understand the main advantages and disadvantages of this program.

Pros

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Main differences between Child Support Grant and Foster Child Grant. Source: Freepik
  • Ongoing monthly financial help: This can ensure that underprivileged children have access to clothing, food, medical care, etc;
  • Less school dropout: this retirement can guarantee enough income for the children to remain in school instead of working to supplement the family income;
  • Effective fight against poverty, guaranteeing income to extremely needy families;
  • The direct application of money in needy cities, towns, and localities can contribute to the development of the local market.

Cons

  • Financial assistance is limited. Many families who rely solely on this pension still struggle financially;
  • This project does not offer professional training or any mechanism for the beneficiary families to one day become financially independent;
  • The bureaucracy and delay in the application process can discourage many families from applying for this aid;
  • There are no mechanisms to prevent the misuse of this aid. Thus, some families can simply divert the resource for other purposes.
Child Support Grant

Child Support Grant: ensuring quality of life for your children

Child Support Grant is a way to combat all the social inequality that permeates the history of our country for years. To find out how you can take advantage of this program, see the review below!

Requirements

  • Be the primary caregiver of one or more children under the age of 18. If you are not related to the child, you must provide evidence of your caregiver status through a police statement, a report from a social worker, a statement from the biological parent, or a letter from the child’s school principal;
  • Be a South African citizen or permanent resident;
  • Have a maximum annual income of R52,800 if you are single. If you are married, your combined income with your spouse must not exceed R105,600;
  • The child must be under 18 years of age;
  • The child does not participate in any program at another state institution;
  • Reside with a caregiver who does not receive payment for caring for the child.

What is the Foster Child Grant?

The Foster Child Grant is also a program to help families with children. However, only families with adopted children can apply for the pension.

Temporary or permanent legal guardians can apply for it. Currently, the amount paid is R1,070. However, this value may undergo two annual readjustments.

Families can count on this pension while the child is in their care.

In some cases, social assistance may understand that the service should be extended beyond the child’s 18 years.

Below, learn in detail about the main advantages and disadvantages of this project.

Pros

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Learn what is the Foster Child Grant. Source: Freepik
  • With this help, adopted children can have easy access to clothes, food, medium assistance, and other basic needs;
  • Adopting a child can come with unexpected costs. This help reduces the financial impact that adoption can cause;
  • This project can encourage families with non-legal adopted children to regularize their situation;
  • This financial help can contribute a lot to the adopted children to have more adequate physical and mental development.

Cons

  • The program does not offer continuous planning that encourages the professional qualification of the adopted child;
  • As verification mechanisms are not fully efficient, it is easy to divert money received for other purposes;
  • Non-mandatory investment in training and education can make adopted children feel the impact of the lack of this help in adulthood;
  • The amount of the pension is generic (it does not depend on the specific conditions of each child). Thus, in some cases, this help may not be enough.

Requirements

  • Be a South African citizen, permanent resident, or legal refugee;
  • Both the foster parent and foster child must be living in South Africa;
  • Only legally adopted children can count on this help;
  • The child must be under 18 years of age.

Meet other programs: Care Dependency Grant

The federal government of South Africa has support programs for all children.

In addition to Child Support Grant and Foster Child Grant, you can also count on Care Dependency Grant.

This monthly allowance is approximately R2,000 for families with children who need comprehensive care. To learn how to count on this help, see the following post.

Care Dependency Grant

Care Dependency Grant: Receive R1,980 per month

Continuous and monthly financial assistance for needy families with children with severe disabilities. Learn more and grand the help you need.

About the author  /  José Gonçalo

I started reading about finance only to find better options than savings. Since then, I have never stopped studying finance, and I believe that writing about it is the best way to help individuals feel fulfilled and have a healthy financial life. Today, I balance finance and medical school studies.

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