SGO advise please

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Mumto3
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 1:01 pm

SGO advise please

Post by Mumto3 » Thu Jan 03, 2019 2:25 pm

Good afternoon,

i was really hoping to connect to other SGO parents to see how they are. we are SGO parents to my Niece who was removed when she was 18 months old. we had a really hard time initially due to the relationship with her parents and lack of information from CS. the baby had some issues when she first arrived, but now she is thriving, much of that is owing to our own children. its been a very trying time, no one told us how hard it would be, please dont get me wrong, i wouldnt change anything. she is adorable, she calls us mummy and daddy, but thats because we are all she knows and has heard our children call us that.

SGO was granted by court at the end of september. how have people coped with the LA? we havent been too bad, but have struggled to contact them sometimes. does anyone know when we would be signed off from the LA by the SW? has anyone gone onto adoption? i would be really interested to her other peoples stories and advise please?

thank you, you are all amazing!

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Suzie, FRG Adviser
Posts: 950
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:25 pm

Re: SGO advise please

Post by Suzie, FRG Adviser » Mon Jan 07, 2019 1:23 pm

Dear Mumto3

Thanks for your post. It is good to hear that your niece in doing so well in your care and is such a cherished member of your family. I think many other special guardians would agree that the process of obtaining and caring for a child under a SGO can be challenging as well as rewarding.

I hope other special guardians will respond to your post and share some of their experiences and knowledge with you in relation to your queries.

You can do a search on this discussion board for queries and responses about applying to end a special guardianship order and applying for an adoption order instead, although this is not what normally happens.

You are wondering when you will be signed off from involvement with the local authority. Was a Supervision Order made at the same time as the SGO? If so, then children’s services are likely to remain involved for a year. You should be fully informed about this and the social worker should provide you with a specific proposed plan around this.

If there is no other court order in place it may be that your niece has a child in need plan for a time, perhaps to support you all in settling in, to help with contact arrangements if need be or if your niece has any additional needs. If this is the case you should also have a copy and be fully involved in any child in need plan and process which are voluntary.

If you are still unsure, it may be a good idea to put your question in writing to the social worker, copying in their manager, asking that they confirm to you what their current role is and explaining what type of plan is in place including the frequency and purpose of any meetings.

As you now have parental responsibility for your niece if there is no court order in place and if there are no ongoing issues it is unlikely that they will want to remain involved for long.

I hope this is helpful and that you hear back from other special guardians too.

With best wishes

Suzie

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