Kinship foster carers going for SGO

[NT001]

Hi All, just wanting to see if anyone has been in a similar situation to ourselves and can offer any advice please?
So our 2 nephews were taken from their biological parents a couple of years ago, they were placed with the grandparents as a temporary measure whilst a long term plan was being worked on. The original plan was for them to come to us under an SGO with full backing of SS and guardian with very positive assessments. However Guardian decided due to the problems we were likely to face with contact with BP's it would be best to get them on a fostering arrangement where SS could provide support in this area with a view after 6 months to apply for the SGO. this care plan was agreed quickly at court with no issues. It's been nearly 9 months now and SS are just doing the paperwork to get it back to court for them to discharge their duties etc. BM probably won't contest as she is still battling with alcohol and lives a very hectic lifestyle, BF has indicated he will contest though, he has no real long term plans other than he 'just wants his kids back', the children were subject to witnessing extreme domestic violence and alcohol abuse and still have flashbacks associated with this. SS and guardian are not backing the BF at all even though he has completed some parental training courses due to the fact they are flourishing with us and feeling safe again. Really just after 2 things.
As we were approved kinship foster carers at a panel meeting are we entitled to continue to receive allowances for a 2 year period as they are currently 'looked after'? I'm sure i read it somewhere but cannot now find any trace of it . Also has anyone been in the position of having the SGO application decision contested and any advice in this area? Thanks in advance.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear NT001,

Welcome to the kinship carers’ forum and thank you for your post. I hope that the following advice is of some help to you.

As the children are currently ’looked after’ the local authority have a duty to carry out an assessment of need for support. If you have not already done so then I would suggest that you write to children’s services requesting them to carry out this assessment. The support they offer should include financial support (known as a special guardianship allowance) as well as practical support if necessary. This will all come under something called a special guardianship support plan.

Please note that any financial support that they offer should be in line with the local authority’s fostering allowance. As you are currently receiving a fostering allowance you may get a higher rate of special guardianship allowance. This would only apply for the first two years.

Once the local authority have completed their assessment they should send you a copy of the draft support plan. You should then be given 28 days to comment on this plan before it is finalised. At this point it would be advisable for you to get some legal advice so that you can be sure that the local authority are offering you an acceptable level of support. The local authority should offer to pay for legal advice at this stage.

The support plan will be reviewed at least once a year or if there is a change in circumstance.

I would suggest that you carefully read our advice sheet 2e) Practical and financial support for special guardians which you can find HERE (scroll down until you reach it). Pages 6 – 8 in particular cover what I have advised above as well as more detail.

You may also find it helpful to read our advice sheet 2h) Welfare benefits for kinship carers. Please see HERE for the link and scroll down the page.

Something else which is useful to know about is the Adoption Support Fund which can be accessed by Special Guardians. This fund pays for a range of therapeutic support for children being cared for by Special Guardians. Please use the link to find out more information, including eligibility criteria.

You also ask for advice as the birth father is planning to contest the SGO application. Other forum users may be able to give you some advice based on their experiences but I would like to reassure you that it is not uncommon for a parent to contest the application. However unless the parent can show that there has been a significant change in their circumstances since the care order was made they will not be considered as a potential carer. The judge will make a decision based on the children’s best interests using the welfare checklist.

Local kinship support groups are run in some areas of the country for kinship carers raising children who cannot live with their parents. They offer a chance for kinship carers to get together, meet new people and share experiences. Please use the link HERE for our search engine if you would like to find a support group in your area.

I hope that the above is of some help. Please post again if you have any further queries or you can call our free confidential helpline on 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 3pm) to speak with one of our advisers.

Best wishes,
Suzie