Hi
Though to be fair, I have taken our SGO child abroad several times (she has a different surname to me, my husband and my 3 kids) and never been asked for any documentation except for her passport - this is to Europe and also to the USA and Canada.

Hi Good to hear from someone who is taking on a niece/nephew. We have our niece living with us along with our own children. Very often it seems the SGOs are to grandparents, who have a different set of issues to those of us who are also trying to bring our own children up along with the SGO child. i...

Thank you so much for your helpful responses. We are still on the brink of our decision. It has been a difficult 4 years with absolutely no support from anywhere. Our niece was placed with us and we have been left to cope with family imploding around us. We have our own young children, the youngest ...

Just to let anyone who is interested know that we applied to the Child Support Agency and very quickly got a response saying we would be receiving the statutory minimum from both parents (both are on state benefits) of £7 per week starting from the date we first made the claim. We do not receive any...

Hello - please can anyone help me? We are coming to the end of the road on our SGO. We took it on nearly 4 years ago and think it would be best for our own family to end the placement. I know people will be really kind on this Board and try and persuade me not to go down this route - your comments a...

Thanks for the reply. I have been told I will get £7 per week from each parent. It won't affect any allowances I don't get a single penny of allowance from anyone!

I can't ask the parents for anything directly as we have no contact with them and our address is secret from them.

I have a SGO for our niece and she has always called me Mummy. She started initially because my own children called me Mummy but I have never either encouraged it or discouraged it - I would be just as happy if she called me by my first name. When her birth mother heard her use it she was very upset...

Hello I was wondering if anyone had ever tried to obtain Child Maintenance from the child's birth parents? We have a SGO for our niece but are considered to be a high income family so have not ever received financial support from the local authority. Additionally, as I earn above the child benefit t...