time scales

[kinwah]

probably a stupid question, but what are the timescales from telling the LA you are applying for an sgo (or asking the court for leave to apply) to the court granting it (hopefully)? and what actually happens in terms of assessments and court dates? I've read the guidance notes but it doesn't really make any of that clear. I know each case is different, but what sort of time scales are usually involved with SGO's? mine is likely to be contested but would be good to have some idea of how long the process usually lasts and what's involved.

[David Roth]

Kinwah, it is never a stupid question to clarify parts of the legal process that you are unclear about.

The local authority is supposed to have three months from the date you notify them of your intention to apply for an SGO to produce the report for court. The court needs to have the local authority report before it can make the order. Once the court has received the local authority's report, then the application proceeds at the court's pace. If the SGO application is part of a care proceedings application, then the order would probably be made at the final hearing, whenever that was, after SGO had been considered as a possible outcome along with all the other possible outcomes.

[kinwah]

there is already a placement order in place (2 years now) so no active care proceedings going on, just a fair amount of very unsuccessful family finding.

are there time scales in place now for SGO's etc as there are for care proceedings? courts here are speeding up a lot on care proceedings. got a little one with me at the minute who had a PO granted at 2 1/2 months old! never known such speedy resolution! just concerned for the little one I am wanting the sgo for becoz she's been in alternate foster care now for 7 months now and the longer it takes for the sgo the harder it'll be for her to settle back (if I get the sgo)

[David Roth]

In terms of the content of the report, it is very similar to the assessment reports that are written if you are applying to foster or adopt, but with the focus on the particular task of being a special guardian. If you have been through a fostering assessment already, then some of it will be familiar to you - there will be an in-depth look at the background of you and others in the household, discussions about your experience of childcare, and about how you would fit caring for this child into your current lifestyle, and what changes you might need to make. There may be discussion about issues specific to this child or situation, such as how you would manage the relationship with the parents, how would contact be dealt with, and how you would include the child in all your future plans.

I recommend that you make sure you ask to be assessed on your need for financial support and other support services. If the local authority is opposed to you having the child, they will probably be reluctant to provide these. However, if the child is looked after immediately before the SGO is made, then they are obliged to carry out this assessment if you ask for it. Unfortunately, they are not obliged to provide the support that the assessment shows you need, but it would allow you to negotiate with them around support before the order is made, and a sympathetic judge might lean on them to agree a support package.

[David Roth]

Hi Kinwah

You raise an interesting point in your last post. You are correct in your observation that many courts are already moving towards a strict 6 month time limit for care proceedings. This is happening despite the fact that the legislation introducing the time limit has not even been passed yet. It is included in the Children & Families Bill, and Family Rights Group and other members of the Kinship Care Alliance have been raising serious concerns about this time limit, not least because if courts stick to it rigidly (and the expectation seems to be that most will and any extensions will be very rare), then family and friends carers who come forward too late, i.e. after the pre-proceedings stage, could miss out on the child coming to them.

The bill as currently formulated (and we are hoping for amendments) does not apply a six-month time-limit to special guardianship cases, but it does introduce a duty on the court to draw up a timetable in order to make a decision without delay. As I stated, this is not law yet, but then neither is the six-month timetable which is already being implemented.

How long you have to wait could depend on what else the court is dealing with. Quicker care proceedings might mean that other cases reach court more quickly, but reports also indicate that there are more care proceedings now than in the past, which could hold things up. I would suggest you could inquire to the clerk of the court how long you might have to wait.

[kinwah]

thanks. I moved a little one onto special guardianship last year with an auntie, auntie didn't even know she existed til she was 12 months old (with me from birth), so yes, she would have missed out under the new timescales and would have been adopted out of her culture which would have been very sad.

i'll ask for timescales from the court when I put in the application etc. am waiting on the result of a serious level 2 complaint I submitted about the behaviour of the child care team in relation to the way the child was moved from me. the response will dictate the level of opposition from the LA and how to proceed.