Foster parents are paid on the same day as every other children’s grant, so the date itself is rarely the problem. What usually stops a foster child grant is paperwork: the Children’s Court order that placed the child with you has an end date, and the grant only runs while that order is valid. This page gives the pay day and amount, then focuses on keeping the court order, and therefore the payments, current.
Foster child grant pay day and amount
SASSA pays the foster child grant on the third and last day of its monthly cycle, after older persons and disability grants. For the rest of 2026 that means Tuesday 6 October, Thursday 5 November and Friday 4 December. Later months are on the full payment schedule.
- April to September 2026: R1,290 per child per month (up R40 from R1,250).
- From October 2026: R1,300 per child, a second R10 step announced in the February 2026 Budget. SASSA has not issued a separate statement confirming the October payment, so check that your 6 October deposit reflects it and call 0800 60 10 11 if it does not.
You may see “R1,295” quoted for this grant. That is National Treasury’s average for the whole year, not an amount anyone is paid in a month. The foster child grant has no means test, so your own income does not reduce it.
Why the court order controls the grant
The grant follows the court order, not the child’s age alone. According to the government’s foster child grant page, SASSA reviews the grant when the court order expires, which is currently every two years, and tells the foster parent three months ahead that the review is due. A foster placement can only continue for the period the order states. When that period ends, the presiding officer at the Children’s Court can extend it after reading the social worker’s recommendation.
Renewing the order before payments stop
- Know your expiry date. It is written on the court order. Put a reminder in your phone for about six months before it.
- Contact the social worker early. The social worker who manages the placement must visit, review the placement and write the report the court needs. Backlogs are common, so do not wait for SASSA’s three-month notice.
- Attend the Children’s Court if you are asked to, and keep a certified copy of the extension order.
- Take the new order to SASSA when SASSA calls you in for the grant review, and ask SASSA which other documents to bring.
If the review is missed, SASSA can suspend the grant. You then have 30 days from the suspension to apply for the grant to be restored, so act as soon as a payment fails to arrive. The general checks for a missing payment are on our unpaid SASSA grant page.
Other changes that end or extend the grant
- Turning 18: the grant can be extended to age 21 if the young person is still at school or studying. Raise this with the social worker and SASSA before the 18th birthday.
- The child leaves your care, moves into a state institution, or the grant goes unclaimed for three months in a row: the grant lapses.
- A foster child with a severe disability can receive the care dependency grant as well as the foster child grant.
If you are a relative raising an orphan without a foster care order, the child support grant with its top-up may suit you better; see the R580 child support grant guide. A new foster child grant application that has not been paid yet can be followed up as described in checking a permanent grant application.