Adoption within the family?

[MandyLou]

Having now been put in the position of needing to consider some sort of legal order for care of my step-grandchild (now 9 weeks old), I spoke briefly to a solicitor who said the two options were residence order and special guardianship order.
She also said SGO was described as family adoption because you can't do a full adoption if in the same family.
I didn't get around to asking why you can't adopt if you are a grandparent. Is this true?
Has anyone had any experience of adopting a family member?
Does it make any difference because I am a step-grandparent?

I know a court will look at what is best for the child, and I can see why a SGO is more appropriate for older children - I just wondered if it is worth looking further into?
MandyLou

[Robin D]

Grandparents can adopt, but it's unusual for courts to agree to the order as it potentially causes a child difficulties, because in law, they become a sibling to their parent. This does not happen with Special Guardianship which is therefore generally preferred by the courts and the social workers advising the court.

However, if the circumstances warrant it, then adoption is an option. I suspect your solicitor, having heard the basic information from you may have felt that there are insufficient grounds to mount an application for adoption. I think its worth asking the solicitor, but be sure to listen carefully to the response.

I don't think the step grandparent status will affect it at all. We are only grandparents in that the child we have cared for 14 years is the child of a foster child we cared for, so there is no blood or legal tie at all. When we applied for an order (Before SGO's became law) we were told by a barrister that we would have a real battle to get an adoption order and were unlikely to win. We therefore only have a RO which to be honest has been enough.

However, another person on here did get an adoption order not that long ago, but there were real extenuating circumstances if I remember rightly.

Best wishes ...... Robin

[MandyLou]

Thanks for the replies.
I can see that we need to have a talk with the solicitor to see what the possibility of adoption is but I can certainly see why SGO might be better all round.
It looks like children's services are going to fund our legal costs for RO initially with a view to something else in the future. I just feel like I need to know where we are heading right from the start.
At least baby is safe with us at the moment - although I could do with some more sleep!!

[Robin D]

Just a tip, but given the costs and difficulties involved, plus the fact that CS have to give you a proper assessment for support with a SGO, that you don't get with a RO, you might like to push for an SGO immediately.

Over many years now, this site has been littered with people with RO's who then get abandoned by CS, but are unable to show enough difficulties to be able to show that another order (i.e. a SGO ) is now needed. RO's are a cheap option for CS, but are unlikely to be the right option for you or the child if there are difficulties over contact, repeated applications to the court by parents, or financial issues.

[Help 1870]

RO's are a cheap option for CS, but are unlikely to be the right option for you or the child if there are difficulties over contact, repeated applications to the court by parents, or financial issues.

Sorry to butt in.

An SGO is more secure in that the parents are prevented from applying to vary/discharge the order without the leave of the court unlike a RO.

But an SGO does not prevent a parent from making repeated applications in respect of contact, as many carers are finding out for themselves.

[MandyLou]

It really is a minefield, isn't it! Thanks for all the info. We are going to sit down with the factsheets about the different options over the weekend so we can be much more informed when we do see the solicitor.
I have absolutely no idea what my step-daughter might want as far as contact is concerned. In fact we have no idea whether she fully understands what is happening. The health visitor and social worker have said they have concerns about her handling of the baby - so I suspect that they would be uncomfortable with her having unsupervised contact? I guess we will find out when we have the next core group meeting on Friday.
I can just see us having to face one thing after another - whilst being on the other side of the line from my step-daughter as we cannot both support her and look after her baby.

[David Roth]

MandyLou, it sounds as though it has not been decided yet that your stepdaughter cannot bring up her child. However, you are being asked to look after the child while that decision is being made.

You therefore need to consider possible legal arrangements for two different sets of circumstances.

The first is what the legal arrangement should be in the short-term, while the decision about your stepdaughter's abilty to raise her baby herself is being made. The second is what the legal arrangement should be, after that decision has been made, and if the baby cannot go back to her, that will provide the baby with legal permanence. It sounds as if the local authority wants you to apply for a residence order for the short-term placement, and then special guardianship to provide legal permanence afterwards.

You could suggest that instead of a residence order, you could be approved as foster carers for the child during the short-term placement with you. As foster carers, you would be entitled to a weekly fostering allowance and support services. It is possible to arrange for temporary fostering approval for up to 16 weeks (with a possible 8 week extension) while other assessments are carried out.

The other advantage of doing it that way would be that since the child would be looked after, you would have the right to ask for an assessment of your financial and support needs when you applied to be special guardians. If the child never becomes looked after, the local authority doesn't have to carry out this assessment.

If getting financial support and other support services is an important consideration for you, then you could speak to the local authority about doing it this way. Of course, they might be reluctant to agree, because it would involve them in making a financial commitment to support you and provide services.

If you'd like advice about this, please come back and ask and we can give you more details, or phone our advice line for a discussion: 0808 801 0366, 9.30-3.30 Mon-Fri.