Broken SGO agreement?

[Dadtotwo]

We have an SGO in place for our niece, and at the time, the court order said the birth mother was allowed to visit every 8 weeks (the birth father is still unknown).

Unfortunately the birth mother has physically not seen her daughter since February 27th 2016, and as a result my wife and I feel like we’ve been used, and basically lumbered with someone else’s child. The dynamics feel different as a result, also partly because of the behaviour of our niece, and with the benefit of hindsight we wouldn’t have done this.

So what happens with regards to the original court order re: frequency of visitation rights? Does the SGOA need looking at again by the courts or LA?

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Dadtotwo

Welcome to the Kinship Carers’ Forum and thank you for your post. My name is Suzie and I am FRG’s online adviser. I am sorry that I was not able to respond to your query sooner.

It sounds as if there are significant challenges involved in caring for your niece, for whom you have a Special Guardianship Order (SGO). Your niece’s behaviour causes you some concern. Although the court allowed your niece’s mother to see her every 2 months she has not taken up this opportunity. Are you aware of her circumstances? I wonder if this is partly impacting on your niece’s behaviour too? Do you know what her understanding is of why her mother has not arranged to see her? I can see that you and your wife are finding the situation quite difficult and it is causing a strain. You stepped in to care for your niece when needed but don’t appear to be getting adequate support and there is no parental involvement.

You are querying if the court needs to look at the SGO again due to the lack of contact between mother and daughter. The court decided that this degree of contact was right for your niece however it does not impose the contact on a parent who does not take it up. Therefore, there would be no reason for the court to look at the order again unless you were applying to end or vary the order (which would require a court application) or the child’s mother was making some form of application.

There may be support available for both your niece and yourselves as Special Guardians if you need it. If you think that your niece would benefit from additional support or services or that she may have unmet needs you can get in touch with your local children’s services to ask for a child in need assessment to be carried out. This could also consider whether you needed any extra support to manage her behaviour.

You could also discuss the situation with her school to find out if she has any difficulties there or to see what they can suggest.

You can also ask the Special Guardian Support Team to review or assess your support needs, if they have changed since the order was made some years ago – we have a template letter (letter 7 ) in our top tips and templates section that would help you request this.

In certain situations, therapeutic help can be provided under the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) to children living with Special Guardians e.g. if the child was in care before the SGO was made. Please see more about the Fund here (scroll down to the ASF section) if you think it might help or that you may be eligible.

There may be a Kinship Carers’ Support Group in your area; you can check via this link.

Family Lives is a confidential support and advice service for kinship carers that provides a listening ear and practical advice for parents and carers about a range of issues.

If you need any legal advice, you could contact Child Law Advice who advise on private law matters.

If you would like to discuss your situation with an adviser please call the freephone helpline on 0808 8010366; lines are open Mon – Fri, between 9.30 a.m. and 3.00 p.m.

Best wishes

Suzie