5.15 Applications for Special Guardianship |
RELATED CHAPTERS
This chapter should be read in conjunction with Permanency Planning for Looked After Children Procedure.
Contents
1. Introduction
Special Guardianship is an order, which was introduced on 30 December 2005 when the Adoption and Children Act 2002 came into force.
Special Guardianship provides a legal security for children who cannot be cared for in the long-term by their birth parents. It is therefore a further option for children needing permanent care outside their birth family, other options being adoption, permanent foster care or Residence Orders.
A Special Guardianship Order is a legal status that can offer greater security without absolute severance from the birth family as in adoption.
If a child is subject to a Care Order, the making of a Special Guardianship Order discharges the Care Order and so a child(ren) is no longer Looked After by the local authority.
Special Guardianship Orders are likely to replace some Residence Orders and also provide an alternative for achieving permanence where adoption, for cultural or religious reasons is not an option. It will also be an option for foster carers and kinship carers who wish to assume Parental Responsibility in relation to children placed. It will also be an option for relatives or other significant people within the kinship framework.
The Special Guardianship Order was therefore designed to be flexible enough to work in a range of situations including, for example, where there is extensive and regular contact with birth families and instances where that would not be appropriate but where, nevertheless, it is desirable to retain the basic link between the child and parent.
1.1 Effects of Special Guardianship
Special Guardians are granted Parental Responsibility for the child(ren) and (subject to any other order in force with respect to the child under the Act) are entitled to exercise that Parental Responsibility to the exclusion of any other person with parental responsibility with limited exceptions. Special Guardianship can be conferred on one or more individuals who are not parents of the child(ren).
The Special Guardian has the final say in most decisions about the child's upbringing. The child's parent(s) will continue to hold Parental Responsibility, but their exercise of it will be limited. The instances in a child's life which require the consent of everyone with Parental Responsibility, particularly the birth parent(s) are;
- The sterilisation of a child or circumcision of a child;
- The child's placement for adoption or change of name;
- The removal of the child outside the UK for more than three month;
- Where a Placement Order is in force, the Special Guardians' exercise of Parental Responsibility may be restricted by the adoption agency under S.25 (4) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002.
Therefore a Special Guardian can exercise Parental Responsibility on most issues. This means they can make all the major decisions about the child, e.g. where they live and which school they attend and can give consent to most medical treatment. The birth parent(s) ability to exercise parental responsibility is circumscribed, but nevertheless they remain legally the child's parent(s). The aim therefore is to provide legal security whilst preserving the `basic' link between the child and birth family.
Where a Special Guardianship Order has been made, the birth parent(s) have no legal entitlement to apply, to vary, or to discharge the Special Guardianship Order. They must seek leave of the Court to apply to vary or discharge an order and will have to show that there has been a significant change in circumstances since the Special Guardianship Order was made. This is very different from the rules concerning Residence Orders where a birth parent(s) can apply at any time to discharge a residence order. This also differs from adoption, which cannot be revoked.
Before the making of a Special Guardianship Order the Court must also consider whether a contact order should be made, which would enable continued contact with the birth family. Before making a Special Guardianship Order the Court must also consider whether or not to vary or discharge any other existing Section 8 Order.
The Court may make a Special Guardianship Order in any family proceedings concerning the welfare of the child. This applies even if no application has been made and includes adoption proceedings.
Any person making an application for a Special Guardianship Order must give three months written notice to their local authority of their intention to apply. In relation to a Looked After Child, the notice will go to the authority looking after the child and in all other cases, the notice will be sent to the local authority for the area where the applicant resides. The local authority then has a duty to provide a report for the Court.
The only exception to the requirement for three months notice is where the Court has granted leave to make an application and has waived the notice period.
Where the local authority has received written notice from an applicant or a request for a report from the Court, it should send written information about the steps it proposes to take in preparing the report. This should include information about Special Guardianship support services and how to request an assessment of needs for support.
The following people are entitled to apply for Special Guardianship:
- Any guardian of the child;
- Where the child is under a Care Order, and a person has the consent of the local authority;
- A local authority foster carer who is a relative of the child or with whom the child has lived for one year immediately preceding the application (even if the local authority does not consent);
- Anyone who holds a Residence Order with respect to the child or who has the consent of all those in whose favour a Residence Order is in force;
- A relative who has cared for the child for one year;
- Anyone with whom the child has lived for three out of the last five years;
- Anyone who has the consent of all those with Parental Responsibility for the child;
- Anyone who has leave of the Court to apply.
The parents of a child may not apply to become their own child's Special Guardians.
1.2 Special Guardianship Support Services
Local authorities must make provision for a range of Special Guardianship support services.
The Special Guardianship regulations describe these statutory provisions:
- Counselling, advice and information;
- Services to relevant children, prospective special guardians and special guardians and parents of relevant children to discuss matters relating to Special Guardianship;
- Assistance including mediation services in relation to contact between the child, parent, relative or significant other;
- Services in relation to therapeutic need;s
- Assistance to ensure the continuance of the relationship between the relevant child and the Special Guardian including training, respite care and mediation. (Respite care provided by the local authority under S.23 CA89);
- Financial support (see Section 18, Assessments for Financial Support ) and may include the giving of cash assistance). Reg. 6(2) sets out circumstances in which cash can be paid.
Support services should not be seen in isolation from mainstream services and it is important to ensure that families are assisted in accessing mainstream services. They must be helped to access their entitlements to tax credits and social security benefits.
2. Likely Routes into Special Guardianship
It is envisaged that there will be 5 main routes into Special Guardianship:
- Applications by members of the public regarding children not known to Children's Services;
- Applications by members of the public regarding children known to Children's Services but not Looked After;
- Applications by existing Enfield foster carers;
- Applications by existing Enfield kinship carers;
- Applications made during the course of family proceedings.
The following sections and the flow chart show how each of these types of application will be managed.
3. Applications
All applicants must give the local authority three months written notice of their intention to apply for an order. The local authority must investigate the matter and prepare a report for the Court about the suitability of the applicants and any other relevant matters. See Court Reports in Adoption/Special Guardianship Procedure for what is required to be included in the report.
When the three months has expired, applicants must apply to a Family Proceedings Court, a County Court, a High Court, or if there is an order in force, the Court which made the order. When the court has issued the application, the applicant will be given a case number and a date will be fixed for a first directions hearing. The applicant will need to send copies of the application form and the details of the date of the first directions hearing to the other parties in the proceedings.
The Court has power to direct a local authority to make such an investigation and report and must do so if it wishes to make such an order. In no circumstances can a Special Guardianship Order be made without a local authority report.
Geographical Considerations
The authority where the special guardian lives is responsible for undertaking an assessment of need and provision of any Special Guardianship support services in response to that assessment. The only exception to this is where a child was Looked After before the Special Guardianship Order was made. In this case, assessment and provision of services for the child, special guardian and any children of the special guardian will remain the responsibility if the local authority where the child was last looked after for three years from the date of the order.
Threshold
In deciding whether or not to make a Special Guardianship Order, the Court must regard the child's welfare as the paramount consideration and be satisfied that making an order is better than making no order at all. The Court must also apply the Welfare Checklist under s1 (3) of the Children Act:
The ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned (considered in the light of his age and understanding):
- His physical, emotional and educational needs;
- The likely effect on him of any change in his circumstances;
- His age, sex, background and any characteristics of his, which the court considers relevant;
- Any harm, which he has suffered or is at risk of suffering;
- How capable each of his parents, and any other person in relation to whom the court considers the question to be relevant, is of meeting his needs;
- The range of powers available to the court under this Act in the proceedings in question.
An assessment format is provided as part of this procedure for social workers undertaking assessments for special guardianship orders. (See Appendix 1 - Special Guardianship Order Assessment Format)
4. Special Guardianship Panel
A Special Guardianship Panel will be created to oversee the assessment process. This Panel will have 4 main roles
- To steer the process of completing assessments within the given timescale;
- To ensure that proposals for financial support are discussed with the Head of Services for Looked After Children;
- To assure the quality of the assessment and report;
- To ensure that the Threshold Criteria have been used in determining the recommendation of the report;
- To recommend the level and type of support (if any) to be offered by Children's Services.
An ad hoc panel will be set up to consider each case. It will be chaired by the Deputy Quality Assurance Manager and will have one permanent member, the deputy manager for post adoption support. Managers from the fostering, children in need and looked after children services will be co-opted on to the panel as appropriate.
The chair and deputy post adoption support manager will provide advice and consultation to staff as required.
The panel will consider the final draft report not less than 10 working days before the report is due to be filed with the Court.
5. Special Guardianship Support Team
This will be a service provided by the existing Adoption Support Team, located within the LAC Service.
Special Guardians are entitled to ask for an assessment for a range of services, including financial support.
These support services are very similar to those available to adoptive parents and include:
- Assistance in accessing local, universal services (such as health visitors, school places, benefits and tax credits);
- Advice and help to all those connected with the child;
- Advice about contact with parents and other family members, including the management of supervised contact arrangements;
- Accessing therapeutic services for the child;
- Help in developing the relationship between the special guardian and the child, including parenting, respite care and practical support;
- Financial support in some cases.
6. Looked After Children
Just as the possibility of rehabilitation is considered at every Looked After Review, so should the possibility of a Special Guardianship Order be considered because this legal status is a form of permanent care, which may best meet the needs of some young people. Review chairs should bear in mind, however, that the local authority cannot pursue Special Guardianship through any legal route, only individuals may apply. It would not therefore be appropriate to specify Special Guardianship as a Care Plan, except where a carer has indicated their intention to apply for an order.
Pressure should not be brought upon existing carers to apply for Special Guardianship. The issue can however be discussed with carers by social workers, supervising social workers and in reviews as a means of exploring whether this legal status may have benefits for children who are currently Looked After. Carers expressing an interest may be given further information, referred to their supervising social worker and/or advised to seek legal advice. Supervising social workers should have leaflets available, and be sufficiently informed about Special Guardianship to be able to offer information and advice to carers.
Where foster carers work for private fostering agencies and wish to apply for a Special Guardianship Order, it may be helpful to involve the Access to Resources Team in discussing the child's care plan with the private agency.
Where carers no longer need the support of statutory social work visits, regular reviews and supervising social worker visits, Special Guardianship may be the appropriate care plan to consider for the child.
Special Guardianship may be considered where a child is subject to a Family Group Conference (FGC). Where this seems a possible outcome, Special Guardianship may be discussed with the participants by the FGC coordinator or the child's social worker. Participants should be provided with leaflets and information.
6.1 Un-accompanied Asylum-seeking Minors
Applications for Special Guardianship may be made by adults who are caring for children who have come to the UK seeking asylum. These applications should be processed according to this procedure. Social workers should consult with the specialist asylum workers when undertaking the assessments on these cases.
7. Referrals
Applicants for Special Guardianship must give three months notice of their intention to apply. Notice may be received from a variety of applicants:
- Existing foster carers;
- Existing kinship carers;
- Members of the public in respect of children not known to Children's Services;
- Members of the public in respect of children known to Children's Services but not looked after.
It is likely that referrals will be received from a number of different entry points within Children's Services, for example from the LAC Teams or the Fostering Team for children who are already looked after, from the Assessment Team for children who are not known, from other Children In Need teams for children known but not looked after. The 3-month period for the completion of the assessment commences from the day of application to the court.
If not already known, the case must be logged on the electronic recording system as a referral as soon as notice is received of a Special Guardianship application. The legal section should also be informed by email of the application being made.
8. Allocation
For the 5 main referral routes, the following team allocations are expected:
- Applications in respect of children unknown to Children's Services will be received within the Assessment Team in the first instance. The Assessment Team will appoint a designated person to progress the application. At the earliest opportunity, the Deputy Team Manager - Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Service will be informed of the application and will be responsible for commissioning a social worker to complete the special guardianship report and support plan. At the point the case allocation will be transferred to the DTM - Adoption and Special Guardianship Support. He/she will take responsibility for offering guidance and supervision, as necessary to the commissioned social worker;
- Applications in respect of children who are known but not Looked After will be allocated to their current or most recent social worker within the CIN teams. The social worker from the CIN service (Assessment or Children and Families Support team) will, on receipt of the application, contact the DTM - Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Service, to arrange for a social worker to be commissioned to complete the special guardianship report and support plan on the potential special guardian. It is expected that both social workers will consult and discuss the proposed plan as necessary. Further consultation with the Special Guardianship Panel see Section 9.1 Consultation can be arranged, where appropriate;
- If the case has been closed to the CIN Team for more than 3 months, the Intake and Assessment Team will receive the referral in the first instance and will, as per the first bullet point above, approach the DTM - Adoption and Special Guardianship Support for a social worker to be commissioned to complete the report;
- Applications in respect of children looked after in foster placements will be jointly allocated between the child's social worker in the LAC Team and the carer's supervising social worker in the Fostering Team or Kinship and Permanence Team;
- Applications in respect of children looked after in kinship placements will be jointly allocated between the child's social worker in the LAC Team and the carer's supervising social worker in the Kinship and Permanence Team;
- Applications in respect of children subject to family proceedings will be jointly allocated between the child's social worker and the Kinship and Permanence Team or Fostering Team.
The social worker or social workers preparing the Court report should be suitably qualified and experienced. There are no specific requirements as to the level of qualification or experience required and it will be for the manager of the relevant social work team to ensure that the allocated worker is competent to write the report.
9. Special Guardianship Meetings
9.1 Consultation
Social workers and line managers/supervisors are advised to seek a consultation meeting with the Panel at an early stage of work on each case. This is to enable discussion of the outline of the case, clarify the procedure and timescales, and discussion of any difficult or unusual features of the case. Further consultation can be sought as needed. Consultation is also offered to social workers and line managers/supervisors of children who are currently Looked After, for whom special guardianship might be an option for their future care.
Social workers and line managers must consult the head of services for looked after children in any case where financial support, or other packages of support with financial implications, may be required
9.2 Final Panel Meeting
At this meeting the final report and Support Plan will be presented to the Special Guardianship Panel. This meeting will be held not less than 10 working days before the agreed date for filing the report. The assessment and support plan should be emailed to the Panel at least 3 working days before the final Panel meeting. They should be emailed to the DTM, Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Team, and the PA to the Head of the Safeguarding and Quality Assurance Team. At the final Panel meeting, the Panel will either agree the report and Plan, or specify any amendments which need to be made before they are filed with the Court. The social workers and line managers who have been involved with the assessment report and Support Plan should attend the meeting. Following any amendments, the report must be submitted to Legal Services for their comments before filing with the Court. The Panel will make notes of meetings, which will be entered on the electronic recording system for the relevant child as case recordings.
9.3 Handover Meeting to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Service
This meeting will occur within 2 weeks of the Special Guardianship Order being made and should be attended by the relevant social worker/s, Kinship Team Manager and Special Guardianship Support social worker. This meeting can establish whether contact agreements have been completed and whether any outstanding work is required. Where a Supervision Order has been granted alongside a Special Guardianship Order, this meeting can be used to confirm team roles and boundaries and a similar meeting should be set up after the Supervision Order has ceased.
10. Special Guardianship Order Assessment
Prospective Special Guardians should be assessed using the Special Guardian Assessment Form, see Appendix 1 - Special Guardianship Order Assessment Format. This form is based on the schedule of information required by the court when making a decision on an application.
The timescale for presenting the report is three months from the date of notification to the final Court hearing. Time for preparing the report is therefore closer to two months. It is vital that all staff with information about the child and /or carers work together to share information that will inform the assessment.
Assessments of the need for support should also be carried out as part of the overall assessment.
When undertaking assessments of Enfield kinship or foster carers, the assessing social worker should use information from previous assessments such as; viability reports, Form F's, foster carers annual reviews.
The assessment of the prospective Special Guardian must include full statutory checks being undertaken on all members of the household and regular visitors over the age of 16. These checks are the same as those carried out on prospective adopters, kinship carers and foster carers and include; Criminal Records Bureau checks, local authority checks and health checks.
The administrator in the Kinship and Permanence Team will take responsibility for carrying out these checks on all Special Guardianship assessments, irrespective of the team in which they are allocated. The administrator should also be informed when a case is allocated. When consent forms are returned, the administrator is responsible for ensuring that the checks are carried out.
The assessor must interview 3 referees nominated by the prospective special guardian. The assessor must also seek the views of other members of the prospective special guardian's family.
All prospective Special Guardians should have a medical undertaken by their own GP using the BAAF Form AH1. These forms are available from the Kinship and Permanence or Family support team administrator and should be sent to the prospective special guardian by their assessor, together with instructions to their GP for its return.
If the prospective special guardian has recently had a medical, i.e. a Kinship carer having undergone a medical update, the council's designated Medical Adviser may advise that the recent medical is sufficient.
The majority of assessments for Special Guardianship will be completed by two assessors, one for the child and family, and one for the prospective Special Guardian. Before commencing the assessment, the assessors need to meet with a deputy manager present, to clarify who will be responsible for all the different parts of the assessment. The assessors will need to coordinate closely with each other as the assessment progresses, to share information and start to form a view about the outcome of the assessment and final recommendations. The report needs to present unified conclusions.
Applicants should be shown assessment reports on themselves and the support plan. They should not routinely have access to full reports on the child and family, because the whole report is the property of the Court, and there may be issues of confidentiality.
11. Assessment of the Family and Child
The assessment should follow the headings provided. The assessment headings include; personal information on the child, their birth parents and siblings, their wishes and feelings regarding the Special Guardianship Order and information about the needs of the child which is based on the domains found in the Assessment Framework.
Where the child has an allocated social worker, they should carry out the assessment using information from any previous assessments. Information about the child's identified needs should also be used to inform the assessment of support needs for the prospective Special Guardian.
For all assessments, it is essential that the process involve meetings with the child and their parents to ensure that updated information is collated and that the assessment remains child focused in relation to the prospective care arrangements and the wishes and feelings of the child and their parents.
The Panel Meeting should approve the content of the report and the support plan. The completed report should be signed by the relevant assessing social workers.
12. Special Guardianship Support
The local authority must make provision for a range of Special Guardianship support services.
Special Guardianship support services are defined as:
- Financial support (see Section 18, Assessments for Financial Support);
- Services to enable children, Special Guardians and parents to discuss matters relating to the arrangements for the child;
- Assistance including mediation in relation to contact between the child and their parents, relatives or significant others;
- Therapeutic services for the child;
- Assistance to ensure continuance of the relationship between the child and the Special Guardian, including training to meet any special needs of the child, regular respite care, and mediation;
- Counselling, advice and information.
Discussion needs to take place with managers regarding the Support Plan as it is developed, to ensure there is agreement regarding finance and resources. The Support Plan must be signed off by the Adoption Team Manager and Head of LAC Service at least one week before it is presented to the Panel.
Support services should not be seen in isolation from mainstream services and it is important to ensure that families are assisted in accessing mainstream services and of their entitlement to tax credits and social security benefits.
Special Guardians can be offered relevant parts of the Enfield foster carers' training programme as well as other relevant support.
Where the child was previously Looked After, the local authority that looked after the child has responsibility for providing support for the first three years after the making of a Special Guardianship Order. Thereafter the local authority where the Special Guardian lives will be responsible for the provision of any support required.
Ongoing financial support, which has been agreed before the Special Guardianship Order is made, remains the responsibility of the local authority that agreed it so long as the family meet the criteria for payments.
If a child is not looked after, the local authority where the Special Guardian lives has the responsibility for Special Guardianship support. Where a child has not been looked after AND is not previously known to the local Authority, services MAY be provided where this would be appropriate, but consideration will be given as to the extent and range of services to be offered.
Independent support services will be made available to birth relatives where special guardianship is the plan to enable them to receive counseling, advice and support on matters connected to the plan for the child. This service will be made available via the Family Talk Service, After Adoption Service. Birth relatives can self refer or be referred via the child's existing social worker.
13. Who can Apply for an Assessment for Special Guardianship Support
See Appendix 2 - Special Guardianship Support Plan.
14. Assessment for Special Guardianship Support
Most assessments for high-level support will be carried out during the general assessment for the court report, and will be a joint undertaking by the assessing social workers.
Families who live in Enfield and are subject to a Special Guardianship Order or where it is less than 3 years since the order was made, may approach the Special Guardianship Support Team requesting an assessment of need. These requests should be made in writing to the Manager - Special Guardianship Support Team, with initial indication of the type of support required. The assessment will be carried out by a social worker from the team.
When undertaking an assessment it would be helpful to refer to the current guidance issued by the DCSF (now known as Department for Education) - "Assessing the Support Needs of Adoptive Families". However, the assessing social worker will need to consider that these domains should be in the context of Special Guardianship arrangements.
The assessment should include the following:
- Developmental needs of the child;
- The parenting capacity of the Special Guardian or prospective Guardian;
- Family and environmental factors for the child;
- Comments will need to be made on how life with the Special Guardian might be for the child;
- Include any previous assessments and the impact of the Special Guardianship Order on the relationship between the child, parent and Special Guardian;
- Any previous assessment of the child or Special/Prospective Guardian that is relevant;
- The needs of the Special / Prospective Guardian and their family;
- The impact of the Special Guardianship order on the relationship between the child, parent and Special Guardian.
The support needs of the family should be summarised in the Special Guardianship Support Plan (see Appendix 2 - Special Guardianship Support Plan) for presentation to the Panel. Special Guardianship support will be subject to the approval of the Adoption Team Manager and Head of Services for Looked After Children, and needs to be signed off at least one week before the plan is presented to the Panel.
15. Support from the Adolescent and Leaving Care Team
Young people who were in care for 13 weeks after their 14th birthday before the making of a Special Guardianship Order may be entitled to a maintenance grant for higher education as outlined in the Leaving Care Procedure. If such a grant is requested, they will be encouraged to access mainstream funding (student loans) in conjunction with this. These young people would also be entitled to advice and guidance from a social worker/personal advisor from the Adolescent and Leaving Care Service (ALCS).
The Special Guardianship Support Team will consult with ALCS regarding which service is best placed to support young people subject to special guardianship aged 16+, depending on their circumstances.
16. The Special Guardianship Support Plan
Where an assessment identifies the need for ongoing support, a Special Guardianship Support Plan must be completed on the attached template (Appendix 2 - Special Guardianship Support Plan). This may include a consultation with other agencies, such as education and health, therapeutic intervention service about the contents. The plan will include where necessary, proposals for personal, financial and practical support, support with contact, and basic support services to the family.
The plan should set out:
- The services to be provided;
- The objectives and criteria for success;
- Timescales;
- Procedures for review;
- A named person to monitor the provision of services in accordance with the plan.
The plan must be sent to the person requesting support, and allow 28 days to make representations. The social worker should also give information about who to contact to obtain independent advocacy and advice. Where representations are received they should be referred to the designated manager, to decide whether to amend or confirm the plan.
For some previously Looked After Children, it may be appropriate for the existing supervising social worker and looked after children's social worker to continue to offer support after the Special Guardianship Order has been granted. This support can be offered for a maximum period of 3 months. Where this arrangement is proposed, it must be agreed by the Special Guardianship Panel and the Head of Services for Looked After Children and must be explicitly stated as part of the support plan in the Court statement.
17. Review of Special Guardianship Support Plans
See Appendix 3 - Financial Assessment Form.
18. Assessments for Financial Support
Special Guardians must be helped to access any benefits to which they are entitled; this will usually include child benefit and tax credits such as Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit.
The local authority must also take account of any other income available to the carer, as well as any grant, benefit, allowance or resource available to the person in respect of his needs as a result of becoming a Special Guardian of a child. Financial support cannot duplicate any other payment available to the Special Guardian.
The Special Guardian's means will always be considered when ongoing financial support is being considered. They must complete a Financial Assessment Form, which should be passed to the Finance Officer responsible for carrying out means assessments. This process will be repeated each year that the Special Guardian is eligible for financial support.
The Assessment form will also take into account the following:
- The amount required by the Special Guardian in respect of reasonable outgoings and commitments for them (but not expenditure in relation to the child);
- The financial needs of the child, including any extra expenditure due to special needs;
- The amount of fostering allowance that would be paid if the child was fostered.
Means may be disregarded in relation to:
- The initial costs of accommodating a child who has been looked after;
- Recurring travel costs in contact arrangements;
- Any special case requiring greater expenditure due to illness, disability, emotional or behavioural difficulties or the consequences of the abuse or neglect of a child previously looked after.
The only circumstance when the local authority MUST disregard means is when providing financial support in respect of legal costs, including fees payable to a court in respect of a child who is looked after where the local authority supports the making of the Special Guardianship Order.
The Department for Education has produced their own guidance and standardised Means Test Model to assist the assessing social worker where Special Guardianship assessments for financial support are being carried out. (Please see the Children's Notice board).
The Welfare Rights Officer will provide the assessing worker and the Special Guardian with direct advice and support about financial entitlement to benefits.
Once the means assessment has been carried out, the Finance Officer should send written notification of the outcome to the relevant social worker.
The social worker should then write to the Special Guardian setting out the amount of financial support agreed by the Designated Manager (Special Guardianship Support) and information in relation to the following:
- Whether financial support is be paid in regular instalments and if so, the frequency of payment;
- The amount of financial support;
- The period for which the financial support is to be paid;
- When payment will commence;
- Conditions for continuing payment and date by which conditions are to be met, i.e. returning Review Forms;
- Arrangements and procedure for review and termination;
- A copy of this letter should be sent to the Finance Officer.
Financial Support cannot include a reward element as with fostering, however, consideration could be given as to whether or not it is appropriate to increase payments above the usual level to ease the transition for Special Guardians who have been in receipt of a fostering allowance.
Where the Special Guardian was previously the child's foster-carer, - the local authority can maintain the fostering allowance for a transitional period of two years but with discretion to extend if necessary. In exceptional cases this allowance will continue until the child is 18, subject to annual financial review.
Any proposed financial support package should be discussed at the earliest opportunity with the head of Services for Looked After Children.
19. Review of Financial Support
See Appendix 3 - Financial Assessment Form
20. The Letterbox System
See Appendix 4 - Who can Apply for an Assessment for Special Guardianship Support
21. Direct Contact
Arrangements for some direct contacts are managed by the Special Guardianship Support Service.
The frequency/format of any direct contact will have been identified during the care planning for the child and will be agreed by all parties in the Special Guardianship Support Plan presented at the time of contact planning meeting. This however will not be necessary if the request for direct contact occurs subsequent to the Special Guardianship Support order being made.
The child's social worker will refer the case to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Service, at the earliest opportunity in the planning process to ensure the Manager is aware of the case.
The team administrator will set up a file, including the Special Guardianship Support Plan and pass to the Team Manager/Deputy Manager for allocation.
Where appropriate, the Special Guardianship Support worker will meet with the Special Guardian and relevant birth family members to explore the issues that might arise with respect to facilitating direct contact.
In the event of direct contact needing to be supervised, the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support team will, where appropriate, consider an in-house resource to provide a venue and effective supervision of the contact.
It may in certain circumstances be necessary to consider whether the contact needs of the child, special guardian and / or the birth family might best be met by identifying an external service provider to manage these contact arrangements. This decision would always be subject to formal planning and agreement from senior management to fund the support required.
Following full discussion with all parties a detailed direct contact agreement will be drawn up.
The agreement will be regularly reviewed and times, place, and frequency of contact should be detailed.
22. Special Guardianship Procedure Flowchart
Appendix 1 - Special Guardianship Order Assessment Format
1. The Child
- Name, sex, date and place of birth, address and local authority area;
- Physical description (attach photograph);
- Nationality and (immigration status where appropriate);
- Racial origin and cultural and linguistic background;
- Religious persuasion (include details of baptism, confirmation or equivalent ceremonies);
- Details of siblings (include dates of birth);
- The extent of the child's contact with relatives and other relevant people;
- Case history of child (include dates of placements);
- Whether the prospective special guardian is a local authority foster parent of the child;
- Child's personality, the social, emotional and behavioural development and any related needs;
- Child's interests, likes and dislikes;
- Child's health history and current state of health (include any treatment the child is receiving);
- Names, addresses and types of nurseries or schools attended with dates;
- Child's educational attainments;
- Whether the child is subject to a statement of special educational needs under the Education Act 1996;
- Details of any order made by a court with respect to the child under the Education Act 1996 including:
- The name of the court;
- The order made; and
- The date on which the order was made.
2. The Child's Family
- Name, date, place of birth and address (and the date on which their last address was confirmed) including local authority area of each parent of the child and his siblings under the age of 18;
- Physical description of each parent (attach photograph if possible);
- Nationality (and immigration status where appropriate) of each parent;
- Racial origin and cultural and linguistic background of each parent;
- Whether the child's parents were married to each other at the time of the child's birth or have subsequently married and whether they are divorced or separated;
- Date of parent marriage or civil partnership;
- Where the child's parents are not married, whether the father has parental responsibility and, if so, how it was acquired;
- If the identity or whereabouts of the father are not known, the information about him that has been ascertained and from whom, and the steps that have been taken to establish paternity;
- Past and present relationship of the child's parents;
- Where available, the following information in respect of each parent:
- Health history, including details of any serious physical or mental illness, any hereditary disease or disorder or disability;
- Religious persuasion;
- Educational history;
- Employment history;
- Personality and interests;
- In respect of the child's siblings under the age of 18:
- The person with whom the child is living;
- Whether the sibling is looked after by a local authority or provided with accommodation by a voluntary organisation;
- Details of any court order made with respect to the sibling under the Act, including the name of the court, the order made and the date on which the order was made.
3. Wishes and Feelings of the Child and Others
- Child's wishes and feelings regarding:
- Special guardianship;
- His/her religious and cultural upbringing; and
- Contact with his relatives and any other person the local authority consider to be relevant;
- State date on which the child's wishes and feelings were last ascertained.
- Parents' wishes and feelings regarding:
- Special guardianship;
- The child's religious and cultural upbringing; and
- Contact with the child;
- State date on which the wishes and feelings of each parent were last ascertained.
- Wishes and feelings of any of the child's relatives, and any other significant person (state dates on which those wishes and feelings were last ascertained).
4. The Prospective Special Guardians (s)
Where there is a joint application, give details required for each applicant.
- Name, date and place of birth, address and local authority area;
- Physical description (attach photograph);
- Nationality (and immigration status where appropriate);
- Racial origin and cultural and linguistic background;
- State if the prospective special guardian:
- Is married, (give date and place of marriage);
- Has formed a civil partnership, (give date and place of registration of the civil partnership);
- Has a partner, (give details of relationship).
- Details of any previous marriage, civil partnership, or relationship;
- Where the prospective special guardians wish to apply jointly, the nature of their relationship and an assessment of the stability of the relationship;
- If the prospective special guardian is a member of a couple, and is applying alone for special guardianship order, the reasons for this;
- Whether the prospective special guardian is a relative of the child;
- Prospective special guardian's relationship with the child;
- Health history of the prospective special guardian including details of any serious physical or mental illness, any hereditary disease or disorder or disability;
- Description of how the prospective special guardian relates to adults and children;
- Previous experience of caring for children;
- Parenting capacity, to include an assessment of the prospective special guardian's ability and suitability to bring up the child;
- Details of any past assessments as a prospective adopter, foster parent or special guardian;
- Details of income and expenditure;
- Information about the prospective special guardian's home and the neighbourhood in which he lives;
- Details of other members of the household and details of any children the prospective special guardian even if not resident in the household;
- Details of the parents and any siblings of the prospective special guardian, with their ages or ages at death;
- The following information:
- Religious persuasion;
- Educational history;
- Employment history;
- Personality and interests;
- Details of any previous family court proceedings in which the prospective special guardian has been involved (which have to been referred to elsewhere in this report);
- A report on each of the interviews with the three persons nominated by the prospective special guardian to provide personal references for him;
- Whether the prospective special guardian is willing to follow any wishes of the child or his parents in respect of the child's religious and cultural upbringing;
- The views of other members of the prospective special guardian's household and wider family in relation to the proposed special guardianship order;
- An assessment of the child's current and future relationship with the family of the prospective special guardian;
- Reasons for applying for a special guardianship order and extent of the understanding of the nature and effect of special guardianship and whether the prospective special guardian has discussed special guardianship with the child;
- Any hopes and expectations the prospective special guardian has for the child's future;
- The prospective special guardian's wishes and feelings in relation to contact between the child and his relatives or any other person the local authority consider relevant.
5.Local Authority Completing the Report
- Name and address;
- Details of any past involvement of the local authority with the prospective special guardian, including any past preparation for that person to be a local authority foster parent or adoptive parent or special guardian;
- Where section 14A(7)(a) of the Act applies and the prospective special guardian lives in the area of another local authority, details of the local authority's enquiries of that other local authority about the prospective special guardian;
- A summary of any special guardianship support services provided by the authority for the prospective special guardian, the child or the child's parents and the period for which the services are to be provide; and
- Where the local authority has decided not to provide special guardianship support services, the reason why.
6. Summary of Medical Information on the Prospective Special Guardian
The local authority's medical advisor should provide this summary.
7. Implications of making the Special Guardianship Order
For:
- The child;
- The child's parents;
- The prospective special guardian and his family;
- Other relevant people.
8. Merits of Special Guardianship Order and other Orders in Relation to the Child's Long Term Interests
(Please consider to what extent the making of a special guardianship order would best meet the long-term needs of the child, and compare to other orders available under the Children Act 1986 or the Adoption Act 2002).
9. Recommendations
State whether or not the special guardianship order sought should be made in respect of the child, and if not, what alternatives are proposed.
10. Recommendations for Contact
State what arrangements for contact between the child and their relatives and other relevant people the local authority would recommend.
Appendix 2 - Special Guardianship Support Plan
Click here to view support plan form
Appendix 3 - Financial Assessment Form
Click here to view assessment form
Appendix 4 - Who can Apply for an Assessment for Special
Guardianship Support
Where the child is looked after or was looked after immediately prior to the making of the Special Guardianship Order, the following people MUST receive an assessment at their request:
- The child;
- The Special Guardian or prospective Special Guardian;
- A parent (but only in relation to their need for support with contact and/or discussion groups/advice and support).
Where the child is not Looked After or was not looked after immediately prior to the making of the Special Guardianship Order, the following people MAY be offered an assessment of their need for Special Guardianship support services before granting of the Order, or at any time afterwards:
- The child;
- The Special Guardian or prospective Special Guardian;
- A parent.
However, this arrangement will be subject to certain conditions, including the current geographical location of the special guardian. If the special guardian is no longer living in Enfield and it is more than 3 years since the order was made, the local authority where the special guardian now lives will be responsible for carrying out an assessment of need. Enfield Special Guardianship Support service can provide assistance in liasing with the receiving authority to discuss the support issues that may be required.
Other groups who MAY be assessed are:
- A child of the Special Guardian;
- Any person with a significant ongoing relationship with the child.
This means that only children who are or have been looked after by Enfield Council have to be assessed for support services. Where the child was not previously an Enfield looked after child, the entitlement to an assessment is discretionary. In these circumstances, it will be for the Deputy Manager - Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Service to determine whether or not to carry out an assessment based on the child's needs as identified by the court report assessment.
If a local authority decides not to assess in cases where they have discretion as above, they must notify the decision in writing, including reasons for the decision, to the person making the request. The applicant should be informed they have 28 days to write to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Service asking for this decision to be changed.
Appendix 5 - Review of Special Guardianship Support Plans
Support plans will be reviewed at least annually by the Special Guardianship Support Team, taking into account any change of circumstances affecting support (including financial support). The review can also occur at whichever stage of implementation of the plan is considered most appropriate.
The reviews may be a paper exercise where there is no change or minor change. However, if there is substantial change, i.e. a serious change in the behaviour of the child, it may be best to conduct a re-assessment of needs. Again if the local authority varies the plan, 28 days should be given to allow representation.
Any changes to the Special Guardianship Support Plan will be the subject of the approval of the Team Manager - Adoption Support Service and the Head of Services for Looked After Children.
If the local authority decides to vary or terminate the provision of support after the review, notice in writing must be given and the person concerned should be given 28 days to make representations.
Appendix 6 - Review of Financial Support
Where Special Guardians are in receipt of financial support, the social worker responsible for monitoring the Support Plan (or the Finance Department) will write annually to them with a Financial Assessment Review Form to be completed, together with a request for information about any change in circumstances for the Special Guardian or the child.
The Assessment Form should be forwarded to the Finance Officer for consideration. If any change in financial support is considered appropriate, the recommended change should be forwarded to the Designated Manager (Special Guardianship Support) for a decision. Where a change is approved, the Special Guardian should be notified in writing of the change, together with the reasons for the change.
Where Special Guardians do not return the Assessment Review Forms within the required time scale, the social worker monitoring the support plan should send a reminder letter, giving 28 days notice of the suspension of payments if the information requested is not received.
Financial support will be withdrawn in the following circumstances:
- Where the child permanently ceases to have a home with the Special Guardian family. Note: periods of respite, or hospitalisation for instance do not count;
- Where the child is no longer in full time education or training and commences employment;
- Where the child qualifies for income support/job seekers allowance in his/her own right;
- Where the child reaches the age of 18 unless s/he is in full time training or education, when it may continue until the course ends. Note- Evidence of continued attendance at an educational establishment should be provided on an annual basis together with the Financial Assessment Form;
- Where the child dies.
Appendix 7 - The Letterbox System
The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Service manages the Letterbox System.
The frequency/format of any indirect contact will have been identified during the planning for the placement and will be agreed (if possible) in the Special Guardianship Support Plan presented to the Panel at the time of matching the child with the special guardian.
The social worker has responsibility for discussing the agreement with the Special Guardian, using the appropriate forms, in consultation with the Special Guardianship Support worker. The child's social worker will then be responsible for supporting the birth family in signing the agreement. A referral can be made to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support social worker if there is need for an independent worker to assist in this process. The Special Guardianship Support Service will not facilitate an exchange of correspondence/gifts between the parties until the relevant parties have signed the agreement.
Once the agreements are signed, they should be passed to the Special Guardianship Support admin worker who will set up the file. This information will also be added to the post box database, which includes the following:
- Parties to the agreement;
- Nature and frequency of the exchange;
- Address and contact details for the parties;
- Any risks to be aware of when administering the exchange;
- Names by which each of the parties is to be referred to in any exchange.
Admin support will then issue a unique post box number and this information is then forwarded to the respective parties, together with a copy of the contract, covering letter and guidance and advice information on the letterbox process.
To ensure confidentiality is maintained at all times, the admin worker must check the post box data base and/ or the post box file containing the contract when writing to the parties, to ensure names are not disclosed, without consent.
All contents and correspondence are to be checked thoroughly to see if they match with the signed agreement and all correspondence to be checked by the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support social worker/deputy manager for their suitability and confidentiality issues.
All contents (letters, cards, photos etc.,) must be photocopied and copies placed in the relevant post box file by the admin clerk.
In the event of any sensitive information being identified, which may not be appropriate to be forwarded, the social worker will contact in the first instance the adopted parents to seek their views on the appropriateness of the said information being forwarded. If they do not agree to receive this, contact to be made with the birth relative / relevant person to discuss whether the contents should remain on file or be returned to the sender.
The social worker will write to the relevant person with recommendations and action taken.
All letterbox arrangements will be reviewed annually by the team administrator and any concerns brought to the attention of the Social Worker.
Any letterbox arrangement will be reviewed at the request of any party, taking into account the child's best interests.
In certain circumstances and by mutual agreement between the parties, there can be flexibility to continue this service after the adopted child has reached the age of eighteen years.
End