Special Guardianship Order Legal Advice: SGO Order Application & Removals.

If the family court believes it is in the best interests of a child, then they will arrange for them to live with someone other than their parents by issuing a Special Guardianship Order.

The person named in the order will become the child’s Special Guardian and will be responsible for looking after the child, making the day to day decisions, and meeting their needs.

Although the Special Guardian will be granted parental responsibility, this will not be removed from the child’s parents. However, the Special Guardianship Order is an enhanced parental responsibility that overrides normal parental responsibility and gives the Special Guardian the overall right to make decisions for the child.

If you are over the age of 18, you can apply for a Special Guardianship Order if:

• You are related to the child and they have either lived with you for at least one year immediately prior to the application, or the court has granted permission for you to apply for the order.
• The child has been in your foster care for at least a year immediately preceding the application.
• The child has lived with you for at least three of the previous five years.
• You have permission from the local authority if the child is in their care.
• You have permission from the court.

Joint applications can also be made for special guardianship and there is no requirement for those applying to be married.

Anyone wishing to apply for a Special Guardianship Order must inform the local authority of their intention three months ahead of submission. They must then make an application to the family court.

The Children’s Services department will then contact you to assess your suitability and will prepare a report for the court outlining their recommendations.

If the child concerned is in local authority care when the Special Guardianship Order is granted, an assessment will automatically be carried out to determine if financial or practical support is required. If the child is not a looked after child, an assessment for support can still be requested by the special guardians or the child themselves for:

• Financial assistance
• Counselling and emotional support
• Respite care
• Access to support groups

Training and advice to help the Special Guardian meet the needs of the child

Eligibility for financial support is means tested but financial assistance to cover out of pocket expenses is available to all. Such expenses might include facilitating contact visits with the child’s family or to cover childcare so that the Special Guardian can have a break.

Access to other support will be determined by considering the needs of both the Special Guardian and the child.

Although a Special Guardianship Order is usually in place until a child is 18, if there has been a significant change in circumstances the order can be changed in one of two ways:

• The terms of the order can be altered
• The order can be removed completely and the child returned to their parents

Anyone wishing to end a Special Guardianship Order must apply to the court, where the evidence will then be examined to determine if the change in circumstances is significant enough to vary  the original order. The court will also take into consideration the likely impact of their decision on the child and how disruptive another change in living arrangements would be for them.

In the situation where a child is considered to be at risk from harm if they remain in the family home, there are several alternatives to a Special Guardianship Order:

Foster Care

Unlike a Special Guardian, a foster carer does not have parental responsibility for a child and so is unable to make key decisions about the child’s care and upbringing. Even if the placement is long-term, foster care does not always afford the child the sense of security and belonging that can be gained through a Special Guardianship Order.

Child Arrangement Order

A Child Arrangement Order is granted by the court, detailing where the child should live in the interests of their safety and well-being. The person into whose care they are charged will also have parental responsibility for the child, along with the child’s parents.

Adoption

Adoption severs all connection between the child and their birth parents, placing them permanently with another family. Birth parents lose all parental responsibility once the court order has been issued and links with the wider biological family are also lost in the majority of cases.

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