Discharge of SGO, legal aid?

[DevonRose]

Hi

Sadly our SGO through no fault of our own of our niece has broken down. She has gone to live with her father with our overriding PR authority.

Her mother is now taking to court to discharge the SGO order and get her back into her care.

Although we tried to discharge the SGO ourselves we were quoted a costly sum which we could not afford sadly.

My question is, can we be eligible for legal aid now her mother is applied to the court to discharge the SGO? We will support the discharge, but will leave the parents to fight it out between themselves for care of our niece.

We are willing to represent ourselves,but do not know where to start!

Any help would be really appreciated

Thanks

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear DevonRose

Thank you for posting again on the kinship carers forum. I am sorry that the placements of your niece under a special guardianship order has broken down. As you were able to do, you agreed for your niece to reside with her father and her mother is now seeking to discharge the special guardianship order.

You wanted to discharge the special guardianship order yourself but was unable to do so because of legal costs. It would have been possible for you to apply to discharge the order representing yourself. As the mother has now made an application to the court you will be the respondent. Since you do not in tend to challenge her application, it is unlikely that you would be offered legal aid as there would be no case to argue on your behalf. It would be for the court to decide if your niece should remain in her father’s care or returned to her mother’s care when the special guardianship order is discharge

The court will require reports to be prepared and to make recommendations about the child’s welfare. This will involve consideration of the issues that led to your niece being removed from her mother's care and whether the circumstances that led to her removals has significantly changed. The court’s decision will be made based on what is in your niece’s best interest for her long-term care.

Your role in the application will be a small one as you are not challenging the discharge of the special guardianship order so the court will decide which of the parents should have a child arrangement order to confirm the parent with whom the child will live.

You may find it helpful to contact child law advice on 0300 330 5480 as they offer advice relating to private law cases such as this application. As you will be representing yourself you may also find it useful to look at this website Advice Now which provides information for persons representing themselves in court .

I hope that you will find this information helpful.

Best wishes

Suzie

[DevonRose]

Hi Suzie

Social services have now said that they are starting care proceedings for our niece, which we believe is a concern about the mother and the risks involved with her returning to her mother. Does this change things in regard to court?

Many thanks.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Devon Rose

Thank you for your recent post.

If children’s services are initiating care proceedings for your niece this is because they believe she is suffering or at risk of suffering significant harm. This may be because her mother is seeking to care for her again or because she is currently in her father’s care.

I think from an earlier post that the Special Guardianship Order (SGO) was made earlier this year as part of care proceedings which presumably ruled out both parents as suitable carers for your niece. Therefore it may be that children’s services do not support the current arrangement for the child to live with her father nor her mother’s application to end the SGO and to seek care of her.

It is a shame that you were not offered enough support from the Special Guardianship Support Team or Children’s Services to prevent your niece’s placement with you from breaking down. This must have been difficult for both you and your niece. The SGO is usually expected to last until a child is 18 although of course a court can end it sooner which is what your niece’s mother was seeking.

Children’s services beginning care proceedings will impact on the court case and will take precedence.

As you still have the SGO and therefore have parental responsibility (PR) for your niece you will be a party to any care proceedings as well as your niece’s parents, children’s services and a court-appointed Children’s Guardian. As a person with PR you will get legal aid in the care proceedings as will your niece’s parents. Children’s services will need to send a letter of issue to you which you can then use to instruct a solicitor to represent you in the court process. The SGO is likely to be ended during the proceedings.

You can find out more about the process here.

I hope this is helpful.

If you need further advice please post again or call the freephone advice line on 0808 8010366 to speak with an adviser, the lines are open Mon to Fri and from 9.30 am to 3.00 pm.

Best wishes

Suzie