Sgo being forced on us

[worriedgran]

Hi everyone,
In 2 days we are in court for final decision ,I now foster my 3 young grandchildren and despite being told at the start we would be supported in what is best for the children it appears that ,social services will support us but only if they say its best .
I have done everything they wanted us to do and then some but nothing seems to matter now except getting an SGO.

In short SS want an SGO ,myself and everyone else don't ,including the court guardian who is there to say what the needs of the children are .

What ,if anything can I do /say to get the court to stand up for whats right for the children and not just go along with social services wanting an sgo simply as a means to tick the box.


Just to add ,I have always said we will go sgo if that is the right thing for the children ,no question ,but they want it NOW

please advise if you can

thank you for your time

[worriedgran]

Thank you
Hyperthetically what could happen if they say SGO and I refuse

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear worried gran,

Thank you for your post. I am sorry that you have been placed in a position that really worried you. I am also sorry that I have not responded earlier. You are attending the final hearing today and you are worried that the final care plan- for you to be awarded a Special Guardianship Order - may not be the best plan for the children. The guardian also supports your position. As Irene says, the guardian’s position is extremely important and will hold a lot of sway with the court.

I won’t go into the different legal orders that might be available-as you are probably aware of them-having got to the final hearing. However, I will try to answer your question about whether you can stop a special guardianship order being made.

Can the court impose a special guardianship order on you?

There is a legal case which covers this point Re S (A Child) [2007] EWCA Civ 54 C/A [2007] 1 FLR 819. This case says that a court can impose an order on a carer if the court comes to the view having heard all the evidence, including listening to your views, that a special guardianship order will best serve the welfare interests of the children.

It is important that the court hears your views. Are you able to put your reasons in a position statement? The judge will then be able to give them full consideration. You could also consider applying for leave to withdraw the application for a Special Guardianship Order –again based on the above legal case, the court could refuse. However, it would mean your chance of making sure the court hears your evidence as to why you do not believe that a Special Guardianship Order is the best order for your grandchildren.
If you have a solicitors-please discuss this with them. Or you could call our advice line on 0808 801 0366 to discuss in depth. I hope this helps but please post back as well if you have further questions.

Best wishes,
Suzie

[worriedgran]

Thank you Suzie , I am happy to report that after 7 hours at court yesterday. We got the orders we wanted , completely
FRG even got a mention as my primary location for advice etc
I can now say it was probably the single most nerve wrecking day for quite some time .
This whole experience has given me insight into the trauma of these situations and I sympathise wholeheartedly with anyone in proceedings or facing the possibility of them

I will be forever grateful to this site and the people who make it


Thank you all

Now I will go and help to mend my family , hopefully and if that is not to be , raise my grandchildren to be happy and healthy

Xxx

[David Roth]

Very good to hear you got the right decision for your grandchildren!

Thank you for your kind words about the advice from Family Rights Group - I have let my colleagues in the advice team know that their efforts are appreciated.

[David Roth]

worriedgran — one final query. We have dealt with other cases where there has been a threat that the court might impose a special guardianship order, even although the carer doesn't want one. I wonder if you could say a bit about why the court decided NOT to impose a SGO in your case. You can send me a private message, if you'd rather not provide too many details here.

[Cathy]

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hi everyone 
It's been a long time since my last post , so much so I had forgotten my username and my other details had changed too 
So I joined again not as worried gran but as myself 
I wanted to say why the court the court did not impose the SGO even though social services pushed hard for it 


I believe it was because I had done my homework (lots of it through and with the help of FRG ) and admitted to the court that we were likely to need support ,we couldn't see into the future but we knew under an SGO ,despite assurances ,the help would be limited if non existent.


Also ,in our case, we had put to the court that the children deserved a chance to have their family back together if possible ,they all loved their mum and all still needed their mum .
But we would take SGO at a later date if we considered that to be right for the children , in a heartbeat.   

Now an update , the children are still with us but mums come a long way . It has been tough at times and we have asked for and taken help along the way.
The plan now is for the children to go home , though there is no time set as we just move forward at a pace everyone is happy with ,we all have a good future worth working for and in sight .


Update on being a foster carer . There have been times of course when we wondered if we did the right thing for the children and us .
We always come up with the same answer ,yes it was 

We have done lots of training and challenged the non payment of fees to kinship carers 
We now get the allowance and the fees .
Knowledge and determination are powerful 
Thanks for reading 

[Cathy]

Thanks Irene , much appreciated x

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Cathy

Congratulations on your family's successful outcome.

Best Wishes

Suzie

[Cathy]

Not out of the woods yet but very hopefully , thank you Suzie