Family Rights Group | Kinship carers’ Forum

Hi me and my husband have received a negative sgo recommendation carried out by a sw from the LA’s kinship team we are challenging the decision but unable to afford legal costs, there is a IRH soon in court does anyone know what happens during that meeting? We pretty much knew from our second meeting with the assessor it would be negative due to how he started our meeting talking and saying he believes the child would be better off staying with the foster carers for adoption as they have put in for this. On my negative recommendation it was raised about parents selecting us as a tactical thing as they plan to try to gain back their son even though they never recommended us we was actually approached by the childs sw.

Dear Channel2025

Thank you for your post and welcome to the Forum.

I am sorry to read about the outcome of your assessment, our guide about assessments and our
Letter Number 3 about challenging them may be helpful to you.

We have a webpage about the stages of care proceedings which includes information about issues resolution hearings (IRH). Child Law Advice has some information about IRHs too, here is a link to their website.

You said that the social worker’s view during the assessment was adoption or ‘foster to adopt’; here is a link to our advice sheets covering these subjects.

Our webpages about care (and related) proceedings which outline the process and advises how decisions are made for children guided by the welfare principle will (I think) be helpful and informative to you.

If you would like to speak with one of our advisers, in confidence, using our telephone helpline, here are our contact details.

Best wishes
Suzie

Hi this was the full assessment which was negative and the current foster carers have put forward a letter of intent to adopt. Also is there a minimum amount of time that should have been spent doing the full assessment?

Many thanks

Dear Channel2025,

I am Suzie, an online adviser for Family Rights Group responding to your post today.
I am sorry to hear that your full friends and family assessment was negative. You could still appeal the negative outcome.

If you feel that the assessment was not conducted fairly or professionally you could request that a further assessment take place. You could ask that an independent social worker completes this.

You should enquire whether the local authority adheres to the Best Practice Guide to Initial Friends and Family Assessments .

If this is not the framework used by the local authority, please ask for details of their alternative practice guidance for kinship assessments, so that you can judge whether the principles have been observed in your case.

You ask whether there is a minimum amount of time that should have been spent doing the full assessment. I cannot find an exact figure on this but the Family Rights Group Best Practice Guide to Initial Friends and Family Assessment is clear that the assessment should be conducted in a spirit of enquiry and a spirit of partnership.
You can access detailed information from our website on principles and best practice in kinship care assessment here.

If you feel that the process was rushed and did not sufficiently explore this option of kinship care you could argue that the assessment was not conducted fairly or professionally. You could request a further assessment be completed by an independent social worker.

You should consider speaking with the children’s guardian; an independent social worker appointed by the family court to explore which options for long term care are in a child’s best interests and make recommendations to help the judge make a decision. You can read more about the role of the guardian here.

It is the judge in the care proceedings that makes the final decisions about the best interests of a child - not children’s services.
If children’s services continue with their view that the assessment is negative and their position remains that they do not see your offer of kinship care as the best outcome you can still put your argument to the court by seeking the court's permission to become a party to the proceedings. You can read more about this here.

I hope this information is useful to you. There is a great deal to consider. If you have further questions when you have looked through these links you could post here again. Alternatively you could call the advice line and discuss the complexity of your position with an experienced adviser. The line is open Monday to Friday between 9.30am and 3pm (excluding Bank Holidays) on 0808 801 0366.

Best wishes,
Suzie

Hi we attended the IRH as told by 2 separate people and were only allowed in for a couple of minutes while the LA legal team said that they dont support me and nor do the childs guardian or the childs father. Child mum does she is my niece. They have said we have 2 weeks to complete and send a c2 stating which order we want to apply for out of a child arrangement order and SGO. Upon looking at the options we think we would still rather go for the SGO and need to do the form but for the life of me i cant see which fee is the correct fee for that. If anyone is able to help. And is it common for you to not actually be allowed to challenge the assessment carried out. The judge did try to state from what he can make out we want to challenge but she just started saying all that. All the odds are against us as we pretty much have no one in our corner and they are all supporting the foster carers application which is adoption. We arent in a position to be able to pay for legal fees and we aren’t entitled to legal aid either unfortunately. My husband is going to try and get some free legal advice but we also dont really know what to put in the statement that they want us to send along side the application

Dear Channel2025

Thank you for your further post. I am Suzie, Family Rights Group’s online adviser.

I am sorry to hear that children’s services, the children’s Guardian, and the child’s father do not support you as a prospective carer for the child. However, your niece, the child’s mother, does. You therefore are continuing to put yourself forward to care for the child.

The outcome of the Issues Resolution Hearing was that you were given a 2 week timescale to formally apply to join the court proceedings and to apply for a court order to care for the child i.e. that you make an application for a Child Arrangements Order (CAO) or a Special Guardianship Order (SGO). You would prefer an SGO. You have previously had a negative special guardianship assessment which you wanted to challenge.

I understand how difficult this is for you especially as you say you are not eligible for legal aid and cannot afford to pay a solicitor. Have you clarified legal aid eligibility with a solicitor or with Civil Legal Advice as you are now applying to join the ongoing proceedings by making a court application? You would be subject to means and merit testing though.

If you cannot access legal aid, then you will be a litigant in person. Please see below for details of advice and services to help people who unfortunately have to go to court without legal representation:

Information for people representing themselves in court (produced by the Bar Council, the organisation which represents barristers).

Self-representation guides available on the Advice Now website

We are Advocate – A charity which finds free legal help from barristers.

You have not been able to find out what the court fees are to complete a C2 application to allow you to join the proceedings and apply for a court order for parental responsibility. This link to court fees states that the fee for a new application under the Children Act 1989 is £263.00. Please confirm with the court though.

Please see our advice sheet 2c) DIY SGOs: care proceedings which explains more about this process and how the court makes decisions.

It is understandable that you are worried about what to include in your statement. Your statement will allow you to set out your case in detail from your point of view. You would need to explain why you think the order you are asking for would be in the child’s best interests. The statement should address the points set out in the welfare checklist. It is a good idea for you to think about who would support you if the order was made. For example, people who would help with babysitting, or moral support. You would need to respond to the reasons why your assessment was negative and how you would address them.

If you would like to discuss your situation in more detail with an adviser, then please call the freephone advice line on 0808 801 0366. The lines are open from 9.30 am to 3.00 pm, Mon to Fri. Or please post back on this forum where you may get peer support and advice from kinship carers who have been in your situation.

Best wishes

Suzie