A MACKWORTH woman who cares for her granddaughter claims she is £7,000 in debt because Derby City Council refuses to pay her the same as a foster parent.
Michele Jones, of Walthamstow Drive, said she gave up her £30,000 job in order to become her granddaughter's guardian.
The council gave Ms Jones a residence order in 2007, stating that her granddaughter, Katelyn, then two, could live with her – a move she claims was designed to ensure she could not receive a fostering allowance.
Ms Jones said she was stunned in 2010 to learn from a friend that she was missing out on an allowance that should with a residence order.
Ms Jones queried this with the council and eventually she began receiving £50 each week.
She also said that the council promised to give her back-payments to cover the three years she had missed out on the weekly sum – although Ms Jones said these payments had failed to materialise.
Ms Jones, 46, said she was angry and accused the council of deliberately not telling her to what money she was entitled.
She also said she felt she had been conned into agreeing to a residence order.
She said: "It was a money decision. By putting me on a residence order, they didn't have to pay me what a foster parent would get. I had to quit my job to look after Katelyn. I've ended up in thousands of pounds of debt because I couldn't afford to pay the bills.
"I'm still in a mess now. I've not managed to pay off any debt and I'm two months behind on my mortgage.
"The house needs loads doing to it in terms of replastering and painting but I can't afford any of it.
"Katelyn keeps saying she wants to go to Disneyland but I can't afford to take her.
"I'm living in poverty. I make sure Katelyn is fed but it means I can't afford to eat properly myself. I don't buy her luxuries such as crisps and biscuits because those extras all add up."
Ms Jones claimed the way she had been treated by the council was "disgusting".
She said: "I'm bringing up someone else's child in poverty. I'm depressed all the time and wonder if Katelyn would be better off without me.
"The council should back-pay me for what I should have had but did not get. And they should give me more than I receive now.
"The way councils are treating grandparents who care for their grandchildren is wrong.
"We're saving them thousands of pounds by keeping the children out of social care. We should get the same as a foster carer."
A spokeswoman for the council said: "We will look into the details of this case and be in contact with Ms Jones directly. If Ms Jones wishes for us to re-examine any actions taken we will endeavour to do so."
