3.11.21 Special Guardianship |
AMENDMENTS
This chapter was substantially amended in December 2008, the whole of the chapter should be read again.
Contents
1. Introduction
See Section 4, Parental Responsibility
Background
Research has indicated that there is a significant group of children, mainly older, who need a sense of stability and security but who do not wish to make the absolute legal break with their birth family that is associated with adoption.
In addition some carers, especially friends and family carers, while prepared to look after the children until adulthood, may be reluctant to sever all birth family ties. Foster carers who have developed a mutual, enduring and reciprocal attachment to the child may also wish to give the child the security the order offers, without the child having to sever ties with birth family.
Some minority ethnic communities have religious and cultural difficulties with adoption as it is set out in law. Unaccompanied asylum seeking children may also need secure, permanent homes, but still have strong attachments to their families abroad. Modernising the law to create special guardianship reflects this religious and cultural diversity.
2. The Legal Framework for Special Guardianship
Legislation
- Special Guardianship Regulations 2005. Statutory Instrument 2005 No 1109
- Children Act 1989 as amended by section 115 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002.
- Special Guardianship Guidance 2005 DfES.
The Adoption and Children Act 2002 provides the legal framework for special guardianship under the Children Act 1989. Section 115(1) of the 2002 Act inserts new sections 14A -F into the Children Act 1989. The new sections provide for:
- Who may apply for a special guardianship order
- The circumstances in which a special guardianship order may be made
- The nature and effect of special guardianship orders
- Support services for those affected by special guardianship.
3. Who can be a Special Guardian?
A Special Guardianship Order (SGO) is a private law order appointing a person or persons to be a child's special guardian. Special guardianship is not exclusive to looked after children but is primarily intended to give them legal security in a family placement. If there is a Care Order, the SGO will end it and the local authority will no longer have Parental Responsibility.
Who may apply?
- Special Guardians must be 18 or over.
- Special Guardians can be a family member or a friend, or other person with whom the child has lived for three of the last 5 years.
- A local authority foster carer who has looked after the child continuously for the year preceding the application can apply to be a special guardian.
- Anyone who already has a residence order for the child, or who has the consent of all those in whose favour a Residence Order is in force.
- Anyone who is already a testamentary guardian for the child.
- Where the child is in the care of the Local Authority any person who has the consent of the Local Authority.
- Anyone who has the consent of all those with Parental Responsibility for the child.
- Anyone, including the child, who has the leave of the court to apply.
- Applications may be made by an individual or jointly by two or more people. Joint applicants do not need to be married.
Who cannot apply?
- The parents of a child may not become that child's special guardians.
- The local authority cannot apply for special guardianship nor can special guardianship be a placement option for the local authority - but it can be an option for carers with whom a Looked After child is placed.
When there is a Family Group Conference for a looked after child or for a child at risk of becoming looked after, the conference coordinator should ensure the family is given information about special guardianship. This should include the advantages for the child and information about the assessment the local authority will do for the court. The adoption and permanence team have an information pack on special guardianship, and a leaflet that is suitable for prospective special guardians and birth parents.
4. Parental Responsibility
Special Guardians
- Subject to any later order the special guardian has overriding parental responsibility for the child and may exercise this exclusively apart from another special guardian.
- The special guardian will have clear responsibility for the day to day decisions about caring for the child and his or her upbringing.
- The special guardian must also take reasonable steps to inform the parents of all major decisions and always if the child dies.
- Although a special guardian will share parental responsibility for the child with the birth parents and should consult them about any major decisions the extent to which the parents can exercise parental responsibility is very limited, see below.
The birth parents
- Birth parents will continue to exercise parental responsibility to consent or not to the child's adoption or placement for adoption.
- They also must be consulted in circumstances where the law provides that the consent of more than one person with Parental Responsibility is required, for example the sterilisation of a child.
Circumstances where the Court may need to be involved:
- While a SGO is in force, the written consent of every person who has Parental Responsibility for the child must be given or the leave of the Court must be obtained:
- To cause the child to be known by a different surname
- To remove the child from the United Kingdom for longer than three months
- The Court may give permission or make an order for either of these at the same time as it makes the SGO.
5. Circumstances in which a Special Guardianship Order can be made
Where a child is looked after by Kensington and Chelsea it is the responsibility of Kensington and Chelsea to provide a report to the Court and to assess for special guardianship support (see Section 8, Special Guardianship Support). This applies wherever the prospective special guardian lives.
Where the prospective special guardian lives in another local authority and the child concerned is not looked after, it is the responsibility of the local authority in which the prospective special guardian lives to provide a report to the Court and make support arrangements as required.
Where the prospective special guardian lives in Kensington and Chelsea and the child is not looked after, Kensington and Chelsea must provide the assessment and Court report and is responsible for any assessment for support.
6. Responding to an Application for Special Guardianship
6a. Stage 1: Giving Information
- Any person applying for a SGO must give 3 months' written notice to the relevant locality team of their intention to apply. The only exception to the three month rule is where there is leave of the court to make a competing application. The Court can give this permission in any family proceedings, including adoption proceedings. If a family group conference has been planned the family should be invited to contribute to the support plan and consider the alternatives to special guardianship.
- The welfare of the child is always the Court's paramount consideration in such cases. The Court does not have to give three months' notice and the local authority is obliged to respond to the Court's request for an investigation. The Court cannot make the order without a special guardianship report. (CA 1989 S14A (11))
- Where the locality team has received notice from an applicant or a request from the court, it should send written information to the special guardian and the parents of the child in question. Information leaflets and packs for service users and for social workers are available from the Adoption and Permanence Team - see Contact Details Appendix.
6b. Stage 2: Planning Meeting
Children who are not looked after |
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| 1. | Where a child is not looked after and not known to RBKC and no written notice has been received for a special guardian application, the social worker should consult with the Friends and Family Coordinator to see whether there is a role for the local authority. |
| 2. | Once a referral or written notice has been received indicating that an application for special guardianship is to be made for a non looked after child by a prospective special guardian living in Kensington and Chelsea, the social worker should consult with the Friends and Family Coordinator and if necessary consider arrange a family group conference. |
| 3. | Where the child is known to RBKC but not looked after, the locality team worker will provide the assessment of the child and the family and the friends and family coordinator will arrange for the prospective special guardian to be assessed. |
Children who are looked after |
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| 4. | If the child is Looked After by RBKC, the locality social worker should arrange a planning meeting with the Adoption and Permanency Team. |
| 5. | The Adoption and Permanency Team manager or the SSW Friends and Family will chair the meeting. |
| 6. | Court timescales will need to be clarified with the Legal Department. |
| 7. | The planning meeting should clarify and record information available regarding the needs of the child, the steps to be taken, who will assess and who will contribute to the report for the Court. |
| 8. | Where the child is looked after by RBKC, the Locality Team worker will provide the assessment of the child and the family and the Permanency Team worker will assess the prospective special guardian. |
6c. Stage 3: Investigation and Assessment
The matters to be included in the investigation and assessment are detailed in the format of the report to the Court - see Appendix One: Format of Court Report/Matter to be Included in the Assessment
- The worker conducting the investigation should conduct the usual statutory checks (medical, local authority, three references).
- The safety of the child is of paramount concern and it is vital that the background of the special guardian is checked rigorously. There is no statutory requirement for a criminal records bureau check but RBKC requires a full CRB check on the special guardian and all members of the household over 16 years of age.
- The workers preparing the report should collaborate in writing sections 7 to 9 of the report for the court and include analysis of the information they describe in their court report in the discussion and conclusion of this report.
- An assessment of support needs should be included in the investigation. See section 8 below.
6d. Adoption and Permanency Panel
There is no requirement in the Regulations and Guidance for a prospective special guardian to be presented to the Adoption and Permanency Panel.
- Children who are not looked after do not need to be presented to the Adoption and Permanency Panel.
- Where the desired plan for a looked after child is a special guardianship order the child's case should be presented to the permanency panel.
- The local authority cannot place a child for special guardianship. The panel can only make a recommendation for a long term fostering match with advice that the local authority should support an application for special guardianship.
- If a looked after child already has a different permanency decision, then a report should be presented to the adoption and permanency panel giving reasons for the change in plan and details of the proposed special guardian. This can be an edited version, (headed 'Special Guardianship Report for Permanency Panel') of the report that goes to Court. NB court reports are confidential and cannot be shared without leave of the Court.
- Where the child is in a foster placement and the proposed special guardian is the foster carer, the original Form F or F2 prepared for the foster carer's assessment should accompany that report.
- Where the child has had a permanence decision for adoption and the special guardianship application means that decision may need to be changed, the original Child's Permanence Report prepared for the Adoption and Permanency Panel can accompany that report with an addendum update.
- Medicals - BAAF Form IHA-C or IHA-YP for the child and adult Medical, BAAF Form AH - should accompany the report, plus details of references and Criminal Records Bureau and statutory checks undertaken for the assessment.
6e. Report to the Court
On receiving notice of an application or if the Court makes a request, the local authority must investigate and prepare a report to the Court about the suitability of the applicant/s to be special guardians.
The information to be included in the report to the Court is set out in Regulation 21. (See Appendix One: Format of Court Report/Matter to be Included in the Assessment)
The social worker or social workers preparing the report should be suitably qualified and experienced (this usually means with 3 years post qualifying experience in children and families or supervised by a person with 3 years post qualifying experience). The report about the special guardian would normally be prepared by a social worker in the Adoption and Permanency Team or an experienced and qualified sessional worker. The locality social worker would provide information about the child and their family to include in the report.
6f. Court Hearing
The workers preparing the report should be available to attend court, including for directions. If the local authority is not supporting the special guardianship application the worker who conducted the investigation and prepared the report should be prepared to give evidence.
7. Discharge of Special Guardianship Order
A Special Guardianship Order (SGO) can be varied or discharged on the application of
- The special guardian.
- The local authority in whose name a Care Order was in force before the SGO made.
- Anyone with a Residence Order in respect of the child before the SGO was made.
- With the leave of the court:
- The child's parents or guardians.
- Any step parent who has Parental Responsibility.
- Anyone who had Parental Responsibility immediately before the SGO was made.
- The child (if the court is satisfied that the child has sufficient understanding).
Where the applicant is not the child and the leave of the court is required, the Court may only grant leave if there has been a significant change in circumstances since the special guardianship order was made.
The Court may, during any family proceedings in which a question arises about the welfare of a child who is subject to a SGO, vary or discharge the order in the absence of an application.
8. Special Guardianship Support
The local authority must make provision for a range of special guardianship support services. (Regulation 3, The Adoption Support Services Regulations, 2005. Special guardianship Regulations .SI 2005 1109).
The long term fostering match report presented to the Adoption and Permanency Panel should include proposals for support. The special guardianship support plan should be presented in entirety to the Court as an appendix to the Rule 29 report.
8a. What is Special Guardianship Support?
Special guardianship support services are defined as:
- Financial support (regulation 3 (1)(a))
- Services to enable children for whom a SGO is in force or being considered, special guardians or prospective special guardians and parents of the child to discuss matters relating to special guardianship
- Assistance, including mediation services in relation to contact between the child and their parents or relatives or any other person with whom the child has a significant relationship which is beneficial to the child.
- Therapeutic services for the child (Reg. 3 (1)(d))
- Assistance to ensure continuance of the relationship between the child and his special guardian or prospective special guardian, including training to meet any special needs of the child, respite care, and mediation in relation to matters relating to special guardianship orders.
- Counselling, advice and information
Services should not be seen in isolation from mainstream services and it is important to ensure that families are assisted in accessing mainstream services and are aware of their entitlements to tax credits and social security benefits.
Regulation 3(2) provides that services may include assistance in cash where the local authority considers this appropriate, for example, a one-off payment for childcare or petrol money. Such one-off payments provided as part of a service rather than for on-going support should not be means tested.
8b. Who must Provide the Support?
If a child is looked after immediately before the Special Guardianship Order is made the local authority that held parental responsibility has the responsibility for providing SG support for the first three years after the making of a SGO.
- After three years has passed the local authority where the special guardian lives has responsibility for providing the services.
- If a child is not looked after, the local authority where the special guardian lives has the responsibility for special guardianship support.
- Reg. 5 also provides that a local authority may provide services to people outside their area in circumstances where they consider it appropriate.
- On-going financial support, which is agreed before the Special Guardianship Order is made, remains the responsibility of the local authority which agreed it so long as the family meets the criteria for payments.
- Respite Care: Reg. 3 (3) requires that if respite care consists of the provision of accommodation provided by or on behalf of the Local Authority, this must be provided under section 23 of the Children Act 1989 (accommodation of looked after children)) or by a voluntary organisation under section 59 of the Act. This means that the child must be looked after for the duration of the respite care and any foster carer providing respite care has to have been approved under Fostering Regulations 2002.
For Kensington and Chelsea Special Guardianship support services will be provided as follows:
- Financial support. The Royal Borough has a comprehensive financial support and payments scheme that covers financial support for all the different placement types that a looked after child may need. Special guardianship financial support is not means tested but there is an upper income threshold beyond which financial support is not available.
The principle behind financial support for special guardians is that no family should find itself financially disadvantaged by offering a permanent home to a former looked after child. See Section 9a, Application Procedure. The amount of financial support received will depend on the status of the placement immediately before the special guardianship order is made. The payment rates are available upon request and are updated annually in line with inflation. - Groups and opportunities for discussion - The Royal Borough has a contract to provide these services with After Adoption, a voluntary adoption agency. Friends and Family support groups are also available through the West London Fostering Consortium.
- Mediation - by the adoption support workers or the senior social worker for friends and family in the Adoption and Permanency Team. In some instances mediation may be provided by After Adoption, depending on the needs of the parties
- Therapeutic services - by the PCT, the CAMHS and by arrangement with suitable providers local to the child
- Respite care - by RBKC
- Counselling, advice and information - by the adoption support social workers in the Adoption and Permanency Team, the Senior Social Worker for Friends and Family and by After Adoption - depending on the needs of the parties.
8c. Who is Entitled to an Assessment?
Looked after children
The following people must receive an assessment at their request, in cases involving looked after children or children who were looked after immediately prior to the making of a special guardianship order: (Regulation 11)
- The child
- The special guardian or prospective special guardian
- A parent
Non looked after children
It is important that children who are not or were not looked after prior to SGO are not unfairly disadvantaged. In many cases relatives have stepped in to ensure the child is not looked after but they still need support.
SG Regulation 11 therefore provides that the following people may be offered an assessment of their need for special guardianship support services:
- The child
- The special guardian or prospective special guardian
- A parent
- A child of the special guardian (whether the special guardianship child is looked after or not)
- Any person with a significant on-going relationship with a child
If a local authority decides not to assess where they have discretion as above, they must give that decision in writing, including reasons for the decision.
It will not always be necessary to undertake an assessment when providing information, advice or counselling services. Where a request relates to one particular service or where it is clear that a particular service is required, the assessment can be limited to looking at the need for that service.
8d. Assessment Procedure for Special Guardianship Support (Reg. 12)
Assessment should include the following based on the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families framework:
- The developmental needs of the child
- The parenting capacity of the special guardian or prospective special guardian
- Family and environmental factors for the child
- Comment on how life with the special guardian might be for the child
- Any previous assessment that is relevant to the child or special guardian
- The needs of the special guardian or prospective special guardian and their family
- Impact of SGO on relationship between child, parent and special guardian including arrangements for contact.
The assessment for Special Guardianship support will be completed jointly by the Adoption and Permanency Team worker for the special guardian and the social worker for the child where the child is looked after using the format of the Special Guardianship Support Plan and Guidance See Appendix Two: Special Guardianship Support - Guidance Notes and Support Plan
Where a child is not looked after, the worker completing the Court Report will also complete the Special Guardianship Support Assessment and Plan in consultation with the SSW Friends and Family, The Kinship Coordinator or the Adoption and Permanence Team Manager.
Support plan meeting
Where a child is looked after and the special guardian has given written notice of their intention to apply, there should be a special guardianship support plan meeting at an early stage in the assessment. The prospective special guardian should always be invited to the meeting. The meeting should be chaired by the permanence team manager or one of the senior social workers for friends and family or the senior social worker for adoption.
8e. Writing the Special Guardianship Support Plan
To be completed on Form FPU SG 211 Special Guardianship Support Plan. See Appendix Two: Special Guardianship Support - Guidance Notes and Support Plan
A plan will be necessary where there is to be on-going support services not limited to one occasion and not limited to just the provision of advice and information.
The plan should be filed with the Court as an appendix to the Rule 29 report. The prospective special guardians should always be involved in drawing up the pan. The birth family should also be consulted and the child if old enough. Other agencies, such as education and health may need to be consulted.
The Plan sets out:
- services to be provided to the special guardian, the birth family and the child
- procedures for review
- a named person to monitor the provision of services in accordance with the plan
8f. Sending Notice of the Result of the Assessment and the Recommended Plan
The person carrying out the assessment must discuss their recommendations with their manager and send a draft copy of the plan to the people requesting provision.
The notice must include the following:
- information about the outcome of the assessment and the reasons for it
- where it relates to financial support the basis on which this is determined
- whether the Local Authority or another agency is to provide the services
- the services ( if any) that the Local Authority proposes to provide
- if financial support is to be paid, the amount and conditions attached
8g. The Local Authority must Decide whether to Provide Services
The local authority must allow the special guardian to make representations, giving notice of 28 days for representations to be made and should refer the person to sources of independent advice and advocacy. This can be the Citizens Advice Bureau, an independent law centre or in the case of a foster carer, the Fostering Network. After considering representations, the local authority will decide whether to provide the services, taking into account the individual circumstances of the case.
The Adoption and Permanence Team Manager should make this decision in consultation with a service manager for looked after children.
Review of Plan
Regulation 17 requires that plans for special guardianship support must be reviewed taking into account the following:
- any change of circumstances affecting the support planned
- at whichever stage of implementation of the plan is considered most appropriate
- in any event at least annually.
Reviews do not have to involve direct contact where there is no change or a minor change in circumstances. The format of the review will depend on the circumstances of the case and may be limited to an exchange of correspondence.
The business support officer in the adoption and permanency team will send a review letter annually to all those special guardians receiving support services asking them for information about any change in circumstances and whether contact arrangements need to be revised.
If the change applies to just one service the review can be carried out with reference only to that service. However, if there is a substantial change of circumstances, i.e. a serious change in the behaviour of the child, it would normally be necessary to conduct a new assessment of needs.
If the local authority decides to vary or terminate the provision after the review then the budget holder should arrange for the business support officer to send notice of the proposed change in writing. The manager must give reasons and the special guardian be given 28 days to make representations.
9. Financial Support (SG Regulation 13)
The assessing social worker should help the Special Guardians to access any benefits to which they may be entitled; this would include child benefit and tax credits such as Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. Special guardians need to make an application to the Inland Revenue for tax credits.
Regulation 13 determines that the local authority must take account of any other grant, benefit, allowance or resource available to the person in respect of his needs as a result of becoming a special guardian of a child. Financial support cannot duplicate any other payment available to the special guardian
Special guardians will usually be entitled to financial support and this will usually be paid at the rate of the fostering allowance for the age of child/ren who are to be subjects of the special guardianship order after taking into account payments for child benefit and child tax credit.
Special Guardianship Allowances
The Borough believes that a carer should not be financially disadvantaged by offering a permanent home to a child who is Looked After. Therefore, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea will pay a Special Guardianship Allowance if the child is Looked After by the local authority immediately before the Special Guardianship order is made or if the child would have been looked after if the SGO were not made. In other very exceptional circumstances financial support may be considered at the discretion of the head of service.
- If the child is Looked After, special guardians will be paid the same amount as they are currently receiving to look after the child. This will usually be Fostering Allowance for a child of the same age.
- This amount will be reduced by the Child Benefit Rate and any Child Tax Credit payable, as the Special Guardian will be entitled to apply for these.
- Payment rates are available upon request and are updated annually in line with inflation.
- However, if the special guardian's gross household income, before tax, exceeds £50 000, the allowance is not payable.
The Special Guardianship Allowance will cease if:
- the young person starts full time employment or qualifies for a place on a government training scheme;
- the young person qualifies for Income Support or Job Seekers' Allowance in his / her own right;
- the child or young person no longer lives with the special guardian or
- there is a change in household income levels which means it now exceeds £50,000.
Legal Costs
The local authority will pay legal fees of up £5,000 if the application for the special guardianship order is being contested by someone with parental responsibility. This includes fees payable to a Court in respect of a child who is looked after by the local authority and the authority supports the making of the special guardianship order.
Local authorities are not expected to meet legal costs where they oppose the special guardianship order application in respect of a child. In such circumstances prospective special guardians may be able to get help with legal costs from the Legal Services Commission, although this would be subject to a means test.
9a. Application Procedure
- If a special guardianship allowance has been agreed at a support planning meeting, the Adoption and Permanence Team Manager will send a letter confirming the allowance that is to be paid.
- When the special guardianship order is made the locality team manager must inform the Adoption and Permanence Team Manager immediately and the business Support Supervisor in the FPU. Business Support in FPU will send the Special Guardian a form asking for bank details for the payment to be made and this should be returned to Business Support. The allowance is payable from the date of the order.
- The Adoption and Permanence Team Manager will inform the finance officer in children's services who maintains maintain a spreadsheet of all special guardianship payments for monitoring and budget projections
- Review letters to be sent out annually just before the anniversary of the order with the annual financial review form to be completed and a statement requesting information about any change in circumstances for the special guardian or the child.
9b. Urgent Cases
Where a person has urgent need of a service, the assessment process should not delay provision. Regulation 19 therefore provides that where any requirement under the Regulations would delay provision in a case of urgency, that requirement does not apply. The local authority will need to review the provision as soon as possible after the support has been provided in accordance with the procedures set out above.
10. Leaving Care Provision (Regulation 22)
Time spent under a Special Guardianship Order is relevant when considering the child's entitlement to leaving care services. Section 24(2) of the Act defines "a person qualifying for advice and assistance". This includes a young person aged 16 to 20 who, immediately before becoming subject to a Special Guardianship Order, was looked after by a local authority.
Regulation 22 provides that for the purpose of providing advice and assistance, the relevant authority shall be the local authority which last looked after the young person. Depending on the service required, it may be more appropriate for the young person to seek support locally where now resident, (i.e. health care).
Appendix One: Format of Court Report/Matter to be Included in the Assessment
Special Guardianship Court Report Format
Matters to be Dealt with in Report for the Court
| The following matters are prescribed for the purposes of section 14A(8)(b) of the Act. | ||
| 1. | In respect of the child -
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| 2. | In respect of the child’s family - | |
| a. | name, date and place of birth and address (and the date on which their last address was confirmed) including local authority area of each parent of the child and his siblings under the age of 18; | |
| b. | a photograph, if available, and physical description of each parent; | |
| c. | nationality (and immigration status where appropriate) of each parent; | |
| d. | racial origin and cultural and linguistic background of each parent; | |
| e. | whether the child’s parents were married to each other at the time of the child’s birth or have subsequently married and whether they are divorced or separated; | |
| f. | where the child’s parents have been previously married or formed a civil partnership, the date of the marriage or civil partnership; | |
| g. | where the child’s parents are not married, whether the father has parental responsibility and, if so, how it was acquired; | |
| h. | if the identity or whereabouts of the father are not known, the information about him that ‘ has been ascertained and from whom, and the steps that have been taken to establish paternity; | |
| i. | the past and present relationship of the child’s parents; | |
| j. | where available, the following information in respect of each parent-
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| k. | in respect of the child’s siblings under the age of 18 -
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| 3. | In respect of the wishes and feelings of the child and others - | |
| a. | an assessment of the child’s wishes and feelings (considered in light of his age and understanding) regarding-
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| b. | the wishes and feelings of each parent regarding-
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| c. | the wishes and feelings of any of the child’s relatives, or any other person the local authority consider relevant regarding the child and the dates on which those wishes and feelings were last ascertained. | |
| 4. | In respect of the prospective special guardian or, where two or more persons are jointly prospective special guardians, each of them - | |
| a. | name, date and place of birth and address including local authority area; | |
| b. | a photograph and physical description; | |
| c. | nationality (and immigration status where appropriate); | |
| d. | racial origin and cultural and linguistic background; | |
| e. | if the prospective special guardian is-
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| f. | details of any previous marriage, civil partnership, or relationship; | |
| g. | where the prospective special guardians wish to apply jointly, the nature of their relationship and an assessment of the stability of that relationship; | |
| h. | if the prospective special guardian is a member of a couple and is applying alone for a special guardianship order, the reasons for this; | |
| i. | whether the prospective special guardian is a relative of the child; | |
| j. | prospective special guardian’s relationship with the child; | |
| k. | a health history of the prospective special guardian including details of any serious physical or mental illness, any hereditary disease or disorder or disability; | |
| l. | a description of how the prospective special guardian relates to adults and children; | |
| m. | previous experience of caring for children; | |
| n. | parenting capacity, to include an assessment of the prospective special guardian’s ability and suitability to bring up the child; | |
| o. | where there have been any past assessments as a prospective adopter, foster parent or special guardian, relevant details as appropriate; | |
| p. | details of income and expenditure; | |
| q. | information about the prospective special guardian’s home and the neighbourhood in which he lives; | |
| r. | details of other members of the household and details of any children of the prospective special guardian even if not resident in the household; | |
| s. | details of the parents and any siblings of the prospective special guardian, with their ages or ages at death; | |
| t. | the following information-
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| u. | details of any previous family court proceedings in which the prospective special guardian has been involved (which have not been referred to elsewhere in this report); | |
| v. | a report of each of the interviews with the three persons nominated by the prospective special guardian to provide personal references for him; | |
| w. | whether the prospective special guardian is willing to follow any wishes of the child or his parents in respect of the child’s religious and cultural upbringing; | |
| x. | the views of other members of the prospective special guardian’s household and wider family in relation to the proposed special guardianship order; | |
| y. | an assessment of the child’s current and future relationship with the family of the prospective special guardian; | |
| z. | reasons for applying for a special guardianship order and extent of understanding of the nature and effect of special guardianship and whether the prospective special guardian has discussed special guardianship with the child; | |
| aa. | any hopes and expectations the prospective special guardian has for the child’s future; and |
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| ab. | the prospective special guardian’s wishes and feelings in relation to contact between the child and his relatives or any other person the local authority considers relevant. | |
| 5. | In respect of the local authority which completed the report-
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| 6. | A summary prepared by the medical professional who provided the information referred to in paragraphs 1(1) and 4(k). | |
| 7. | The implications of the making of a special guardianship order for-
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| 8. | The relative merits of special guardianship and other orders which may be made under the Act or the Adoption and Children Act 2002 with an assessment of whether the child’s long-term interests would be best met by a special guardianship order. | |
| 9. | A recommendation as to whether or not the special guardianship order sought should be made in respect of the child and, if not, any alternative proposal in respect of the child. | |
| 10. | A recommendation as to what arrangements there should be for contact between the child and his relatives or any person the local authority consider relevant | |
Appendix Two: Special Guardianship Support - Guidance Notes and Support Plan
Support Plan Form
Click here to view a copy of the Support Plan form
There is recognition that many families need and value support and help both through the application for and after a special guardianship order is made. It is now a legal requirement that local authorities assess a family's need for support before they agree to support an application for special guardianship. Many prospective special guardians will have a prior connection or personal relationship with the child, who may already be living with them.
There are three sorts of special guardians:
- Friends and family: Friends and family special guardians may already be foster parents and have the child living with them.
- agency foster carers who already have the child in placement
- Special guardians for children who are not looked after but who have a personal connection with the child either through private fostering, kinship or through connection with the child's family of origin.
All prospective special guardians are entitled to the same assessment for support and are eligible for similar services after the special guardianship order made. However their needs for support, including financial support, will vary according to their individual circumstances and the nature of their relationship with the child and their birth family.
The level of support that is appropriate during the period of time between the beginning of a placement of a looked after child with the special guardian and the special guardianship order is unlikely to be maintained after an order has been made. This is because the relationship between the child, the local authority and the special guardians changes with the making of the order. Once an order has been made the child will not be looked after and the local authority will no longer have a regular place in the family's life unless the court makes a supervision order at the same time as the special guardianship order.
The Royal Borough adopts the principle that a family should not be disadvantaged by offering a permanent home to a child who would otherwise remain in public care. Similarly, for a child who is not looked after, the family should not stand to gain financially by making of a special guardianship order.
These notes are intended for guidance in completing a special guardianship support plan. All cases are individual and advice is always available from the Adoption and Permanency Team.
Special guardians and children who are the subject of special guardianship applications should be made aware that they are entitled to support from 'After Adoption'. This support includes advice and counselling for all those involved in the special guardianship application; special guardianship support groups; advice to special guardians about how to explain their position to children; help to special guardians in dealing with difficult behaviour; direct work with children to explore feelings of loss and separation and support to special guardians if the children want to increase their level of contact.
- The special guardianship support plan should be considered and discussed at the beginning of the assessment of the special guardians' family.
- Before the plan is drafted we invite the prospective special guardian to a meeting chaired by the permanence team manager or senior SW for friends and family to discuss the plan.
- The special guardianship support plan is written by the child's social worker and the assessing social worker in the permanence team in consultation with the special guardian, the birth parents and the child where appropriate. An adoption support social worker or the senior social worker for friends and family may also be involved when the plan is revised for court, particularly if there need to be supervised arrangements for contact.
- The support plan for a looked after child should be reviewed when the change of permanence plan becomes special guardianship. The new plan should be presented to the adoption and permanency panel.
- The final revision should be during preparation of the court report (under Rule 29) for the special guardianship application. This is also the point at which the plan for children who are not looked after should have its final revision.
- The child's social worker should ensure that the special guardianship support plan is written down and sent to the prospective special guardians for their comments 10 days before the final plan is completed.
- In order to review a family's need for ongoing support, following the making of the special guardianship order the adoption team administrator will write to the family at least once a year for an update on their circumstances and to enquire as to whether they need further support by means of a continuation to the special guardianship Support Plan.
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