Special Guardianship Orders

 Better or worse than fostering?


 Special Guardianship addresses the needs of a significant group of children, who need a sense of stability and security within a placement away from their parents but not the absolute legal break with their birth family that is associated with adoption. It can also provide an alternative for achieving permanence in families where adoption, for cultural or religious reasons, is not an option.

The following persons may apply:

Any guardian of the child;
A local authority foster carer with whom the child has lived for one year immediately preceding the application;
Anyone who is named in a Child Arrangements Order as a person with whom the child is to live;
Anyone with whom the child has lived for 3 out of the last 5 years;
Where the child is subject of a Care Order, 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.
The parents of a child may not become the child’s Special Guardians.

Special Guardians will have Parental Responsibility for the child and although this will be shared with the child’s parents, the Special Guardian will have the legal right to make all arrangements for the child. The parents will still have to be consulted and their consent required to the child’s change of name, adoption, placement abroad for more than 3 months and any other such fundamental issues.Special Guardianship has the following advantages as a Permanence Plan:

The carers have Parental Responsibility and clear authority to make decisions on day to day issues regarding the child’s care;
There is added legal security to the Order in that leave is required for parents to apply to discharge the Order and will only be granted if a change of circumstances can be established since the original Order was made;
It maintains legal links to the birth family;
The child will no longer be Looked After and there need be no social worker involvement, therefore, unless this is identified as necessary, in which case an assessment of the need for support must be made by the relevant local authority.

pro's and con's

I have known it work  for grandparents, it is obviously so much cheaper for the local authority. I would not personally be happy as a parent for a foster carer to be granted an SGO but some may see it as a preferable solution to adoption.




Ma