The amount of foster care maintenance payments may change slightly from year to year. A basic rate payment (level 1) is paid to all foster parents to help cover the cost of food, clothing, shelter, and personal incidentals. In addition, there are three levels of supplemental payments that are paid to foster parents who care for children with varying degrees of physical, mental, behavioral, emotional and/or intellectual conditions that require increased effort, care or supervision. The levels of payments are as follows:

(1) Level 1: Children assessed at this level receive the basic foster care maintenance rate. The payment is based on the time typically spent by a foster parent to meet the needs of a child, who is developing comparably to children in the same age range. The payments are based on three age categories: birth to five years old, six to eleven years old, and twelve to eighteen years old.

(2) Level 2: Children assessed at this level require the foster parent's increased attention, time and supervision, beyond that required to meet the child's basic or routine needs, to address specific physical, mental, behavioral, emotional and/or intellectual challenges.

(3) Levels 3 and 4: Children assessed at these levels have the highest needs for attention and care. These children require significantly more time from the foster parent because of the severity of their issues. These children often will be participating in more than one treatment program, and may need to participate in treatment in the foster parent's home. A child assessed at level 3 or 4 may have serious medical, behavioral or psychiatric issues or behaviors that require a safety plan.