Getting help financially

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Sarah123
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2017 8:39 pm

Getting help financially

Post by Sarah123 » Tue Feb 28, 2017 6:22 pm

Hi am new me and my husband have been lookingafter my nephew since he was 2 months old we have been assessed for an sgo but all is looking good we also had our financial assessment what the outcome of that was not looking good when little one is we are not entitled to anything I know that we are entitled to child benefits but will not entitled to working Tax Credit or child tax credits because we earn too much just need some advice thanks

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Suzie, FRG Adviser
Posts: 949
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:25 pm

Re: Getting help financially

Post by Suzie, FRG Adviser » Mon Mar 06, 2017 10:12 am

Dear Sarah123,

Welcome to the friends and family carers forum.
As Irene has said, the special guardianship order allowance is means tested and reviewed annually so is not available to every special guardian.
Have you looked at your local authority policy on support for special guardians? Page 39 onwards, of our
advice sheet for Special guardians also sets out the support that might be available, how to ask for an assessment for support and how to challenge if no support is offered.
Here are our FAQ’s.


I noted that you have been looking after your nephew since he was 2 months old. How did he come to you? If he was placed with you by children services, then there is good chance that your nephew is a “looked after” child and that you should have been assessed as a foster carer. If this was the case, you might want to also consider pursuing backdated foster care allowance.
Do you know what the legal arrangement is for him? Have you got any court order yet?
Here is an advice sheet about support for relatives . Look at appendix1 on page 37 of which sets out different benefits form the state and from children services for different legal arrangements.

I hope the links help. If you have any questions please post back or call our advice line on 0808 801 0366.

Best wishes,
Suzie

Sheeny
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed May 17, 2017 4:31 pm

Re: assessments

Post by Sheeny » Wed May 31, 2017 7:05 pm

Hi i am new to this so was just looking for a bit of advice or help to maybe understand how things work. I am currently in the process of having a kinship assessment done for my nephew and i was just wondering if my finaces are not great or if i have debt could this cause me to fail this assessment? The first part of this assessment seemed to go well but i am yet to have my second part of this assessment! But any advice would be much appreciated.

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Suzie, FRG Adviser
Posts: 949
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:25 pm

Re: Getting help financially

Post by Suzie, FRG Adviser » Mon Jun 05, 2017 2:19 pm

Dear Sheeny

Welcome to the Family and Friends Carers discussion board.

I am not sure if you are currently being assessed as a potential family and friends foster carer for your nephew or whether you are being assessed as a possible Special Guardian or seeking a Child Arrangements Order for him?

Do check with the social worker if you are unclear what type of assessment you are having. It is a good idea also to ask the social worker to give you a copy of their policy and any other information they can provide you about the assessment itself.

We have some advice sheets which explain more about the different assessment processes which you might find helpful. They are:

Family and friends care: becoming a foster carer
DIY Special Guardianship Orders – information for family and friends carers (SGO), and
DIY Child Arrangements Orders: information for family and friends carers (CAO).

It is great that the first part of the assessment went well but you are worried about how your finances/debts might impact on your assessment. You are probably putting yourself forward to care for your nephew in response to his needs and to allow him to grow up within his family. When social workers are assessing family members they do have to consider your family circumstances, accommodation and standard of living etc. But they also need to be aware that you may not have planned to become a carer and your situation may be different to that of an unrelated carer. Ask the social worker to discuss any issues with you if they come up.

If your assessment is unsuccessful for any reason then make sure to complain or challenge this urgently. There are different ways to do this depending on the type of assessment, when/why you are unsuccessful.

You will be entitled to financial support i.e. a fostering allowance to help you care for your nephew if he is a looked after child in your care. You may also be assessed for financial support e.g. a child arrangements order allowance or a special guardianship allowance if he stops being looked after when he comes into your care.

It is really important that you make sure that your support needs and those of your nephew are assessed and that you are offered the right allowance or support. You can find a copy of your nephew’s local authority family and friends care policy here. Do also have a look at our guide to support for relatives and friends caring for someone else’s child.

If you would like to speak to an adviser at Family Rights Group about your situation future please ring our Freephone advice line 0808 801 0366 Mon – Fri 9.30 to 3.00.

I hope that your assessment continues to progress well and that everything works out for you and your nephew.

Best wishes

Suzie

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