Family Rights Group | Kinship carers’ Forum

Hello
If a child is in local authority care are there any routes for someone to apply to care for them without the local authorities consent/support?

I was going to apply direct to court for sgo with the birth parents consent but would need local authorities consent also as they have some pr too because the child is in care.

Are there any routes please? I just want to get to court so the court can look at it and decide.

Thank you.

https://frg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2 ... edings.pdf gives lots of helpful advice.

As I remember it, you do not need local authority consent although I am unsure if you qualify if the child is not already with you. You do need though to give them notice that you intend to apply. Giving notice is different to seeking consent. They then have to do an assessment and report to the court. Not sure how that works if the LA are already set against it. The LA should explore all Friends and Family options before placing the child with stranger carers. If you have had an initial assessment and been rejected, you can challenge that decision. Look at the top of the page for Advice sheets and resources than look for challenging decisions.
@Suzie will be more up to date than I am if she has time to reply.

However, I believe you could apply to join the current proceedings as 'a significant person in the life of the child' (assuming you have been?). You do not need LA approval, and if you have birth parents support that will help. You have to complete an application to become a 'party', and pay a fee. You can do that through the court office at the court that is holding the case. You will generally find them very helpful. I suggest you do not discuss it with the social worker beforehand as they pressure you to not do so. Being a party to proceedings means you get to see and hear everything. You do not not need to be legally represented.

Hopefully you will find a way through.

Best wishes .... Robin

It’s not in current proceedings during the proceeding I offered to keep her with me permenantly (she had been with me six years and they kept changing their mind to leave her here or not) but got turned down for the chance of reconciliation with birth parents, which has since gone wrong. Apparently I need the local authorities consent as well as the birth parents, because if the child isn’t living with you at present then you need consent of all those with pr which means them as well as there’s still a care order.

That makes more sense with the additional information and it's out of my knowledge area I think. If you need a definitive answer quickly, can I suggest you call the free and completely confidential advice line that is open Monday to Friday between 9.30am and 3pm on 0808 801 0366. Otherwise, Suzie, the advisor here, will answer as soon as she is able.

Best wishes ..... Robin

Owlie12345 wrote: Tue May 28, 2024 3:31 pm Hello
If a child is in local authority care are there any routes for someone to apply to care for them without the local authorities consent/support?

I was going to apply direct to court for sgo with the birth parents consent but would need local authorities consent also as they have some pr too because the child is in care.

Are there any routes please? I just want to get to court so the court can look at it and decide.

Thank you.

Owlie12345 wrote: Tue May 28, 2024 9:24 pm It’s not in current proceedings during the proceeding I offered to keep her with me permenantly (she had been with me six years and they kept changing their mind to leave her here or not) but got turned down for the chance of reconciliation with birth parents, which has since gone wrong. Apparently I need the local authorities consent as well as the birth parents, because if the child isn’t living with you at present then you need consent of all those with pr which means them as well as there’s still a care order.

Dear Owlie

Welcome to the kinship care discussion forum and thank you for posting.

You have stated that you wish to apply to the court for special guardianship order in respect of a child for whom you cared as foster carer for about 6 years. She was re-united with her birth parents and due to this decision, your attempt to keep her in your care was unsuccessful.

Unfortunately, although she was reunited with her parents this has not worked out well and you now want to apply to the court without going through children’s services for a special guardianship order. You have not given enough information about why children’s services did not consider it appropriate for the child to remain in your care. After a 6 year period to make that change for her would have been significant and the court would have to be satisfied that it was in her best interests to be change the place of residence. Also, the parents would have been required to show significant changes in respect of the reasons that led to their child being removed from their care. The court would have needed to see good evidence that her welfare would be best served if she lived with her parents.

You do not mention the period that has lapsed since she was in your care.

Children’s services have a care order therefore could ask them to assess you to have the child in your care. Having looked after her for 6 years you have played a significant role in her life. You do not mention if you are related to the child. Do you have contact with her?

If you were assessed as suitable, then children’s services could themselves apply to discharge the care order and recommend a special guardianship order in your favour. That would be if the only reason she could not stay was because of being reunited with her parents but if you had a negative assessment then there would need to be significant change before they would consider you.

Alternatively, as you would need consent from children’s services and the parents to have the right to apply. You could instead apply to the court for permission to make the application and, if granted permission then give notice to children’s services.
There is no other route for you to use to apply to the court with children’s services consent/involvement.
This section highlighted below is from our website and the link to the whole document is here a here for more information

‘13. Do children’s services have to be notified of an application for a special guardianship order? Yes. No one can make an application for a special guardianship order unless they have given notice to children’s services that they intend to apply for a special guardianship order. This notice has to be given at least three months before the application is processed by the court (‘issued’)19. If the person wanting to apply for the special guardianship order does not have a right to apply for the order, they must get permission from the court to apply before they give their notice of intention to apply to children’s services.’

I hope you find this helpful, but should you wish to speak to an adviser you can telephone our free confidential advice line on 0808 801 0366. The advice line is open from 9.30am to 3.00pm Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays)

Best wishes

Suzie