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Contents

1. Introduction
2. Legal Framework
3. Policy
4. What is a Special Guardianship Order?
5. What are the advantages of a Special Guardianship Order?
6. Looked After Children
7. Who can Apply to be a Special Guardian
8. What Help will the Special Guardian get from Us?
9. Special Guardianship Assessment
10. Responding to an Application for Special Guardianship
11. Annual Review of Payments
12. Special Considerations for Allowances
13. Special Guardian Support Plan
14. Special Guardianship Support Services
15. Addendum - DfCSF Standardised Means Test

1. Introduction

The Council values the contribution of all Special Guardians, irrespective of financial status. What matters is their commitment to provide a child with a safe, loving permanent home.

This document forms part of the Council's Adoption and Special Guardianship procedures and reference should be sought in conjunction with this policy document. This Special Guardianship Policy sets out the services that the Council will provide as part of its Special Guardianship support services.

2. Legal Framework

 The Adoption and Children Act 2002 provided a major overhaul of adoption legislation and made significant changes to the Children's Act 1989, including the introduction of Special Guardianship Orders.

 The Special Guardianship Regulations 2005, places a duty on local authorities to provide specific services to Special Guardians.

3. Policy

The Special Guardianship Support Scheme is applicable to all Special Guardians. The Council will make arrangements to provide a range of services to facilitate placements to ensure that carers can continue to provide care for children and young people into adulthood.   

The Council will ensure that Special Guardianship Support Services meet the needs of those affected by the Special Guardianship process as applicable See Special Guardianship & Residence Orders Procedure). The service will particularly aim to support those children and their Special Guardians who are affected by disadvantage or issues of difference.

The legislation is designed to enable the Council to achieve permanence via the route of Special Guardianship for a much wider range of children than was possible in the past, with particular emphasis on keeping sibling groups together and finding families for 'harder to place' children.

The Special Guardianship Support Scheme offers advice, assistance and support across a wide range of services. Financial support may also be offered, in accordance with the 2005 Regulations. A central principal of the Special Guardianship Support Scheme is that financial considerations should not be the sole reason that a Special Guardianship placement fails to survive.  All support packages will be reviewed annually, to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of children and their families.

4. What is a Special Guardianship Order?

A Special Guardianship Order is a new legal Order giving certain rights to people who are caring for someone else's child. When a carer becomes a child's Special Guardian, they share legal responsibility for the child with the child's parents, but are able to make day-to-day decisions about their care without having to consult anyone else. These include where the child will live or where they will go to school. A Special Guardianship Order lasts until the child is 18 years old.

5. What are the Advantages of a Special Guardianship Order?

For the carer, a Special Guardianship Order makes the care arrangements more legally secure than a Residence Order, and enables the child to maintain stronger links with their birth family than if they were adopted. It also allows carers to have more control over decisions about the child's care, although parents retain some rights and responsibilities. For older children, Special Guardianship Orders can strike the balance between their need for a safe, stable, caring home throughout their childhood and maintaining strong links with their parents.

6. Looked After Children

In relation to children and young people who have been Looked After by Lambeth, all Special Guardianship Payments will be paid until the young person reaches 16-years of age, or 18-years of age if in full-time education.  Special Guardianship payment will also be minus Child-Benefit. There will be an annual review of any financial arrangements for all Special Guardians.

7. Who can Apply to be a Special Guardian?

The following people have the right to apply for a Special Guardianship Order:

1. Any guardian of the child.
2. Any person holding a Residence Order in respect of the child
3. Any person with whom the child has been living for more than three years
4. Any person related to the child by marriage
5. Any local authority foster carer where the child has been living for more than a year.

Others can apply if they have the permission of all those with Parental Responsibility.

The Court may also make an Order for Special Guardianship within family proceedings, even when an application has not been made.

For children who are currently looked after, or who are in proceedings initiated by the authority, the financial arrangements would be as follows    

If the child is looked after by CYPS, and you have been caring for them as a Kinship Carer or Foster Carer for at least a year, you can apply to the court for a Special Guardianship Order, as follows:

1. Lambeth Foster Carers in receipt of the Competency Payment for a child would receive the Fostering Allowance plus the Competency Payment for two years. They will be asked to apply for Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits. The amount of these benefits would be deducted from the Special Guardianship Allowance. Any other non Means Tested Benefits such as Disability Living Allowance would not be deducted. The payments will be annually up-rated in line with inflation; however they will not receive the loyalty bonus, CWDC bonus and triennial PC payment unless they also continue to Foster. The Competency Payment would continue after two years, where it is agreed by the Assistant Director, Multi-Agency Children Looked After and Corporate Parenting that there was no other realistic prospect of permanence for the child. For example, this would not apply for younger children where adoption would have been possible.
2. Lambeth Foster Carers not in receipt of the Competency Payment would continue to receive the Fostering Allowance at the same level for whilst the child remains with them up to the age of 18. They will have the same deductions for Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits.
3. Independent Agency Foster Carers would receive an equivalent amount to that which they receive from their agency for the first two years after placement. Again, they should apply for Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits and these would be deducted from the Special Guardianship Allowance. After two years they would receive the Lambeth Fostering Allowance and the Lambeth Competency Payment, again with the Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit deducted, where it is agreed by the Assistant Director, Multi-Agency Children Looked After and Corporate Parenting that there was no other realistic prospect of permanence for the child. Where this had not been agreed, they would be entitled to receive the Fostering Allowance at the same level for whilst the child remains with them up to the age of 18. They will have the same deductions for Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits.
4. Applicants through Care Proceedings will require an assessment of their Special Guardianship Support needs as set out in the Special Guardianship Regulations. This will include an assessment of whether they require ongoing financial support. Where this is agreed it would be paid at the level of the Lambeth Fostering Allowance without the Competency Payment. Deductions of Child Benefit and any Child Tax Credits will apply. Where the applicant wishes to appeal any decision they should do so according to the Regulations. In the first instance the appeal should be directed to the Assistant Director, Multi-Agency Children Looked After and Corporate Parenting. 
5. Applicants though Private Proceedings may make a request for assessment of Special Guardianship Support. The authority will require to be convinced that the payment of any financial support would be necessary to enable the Special Guardianship. Any ongoing financial support would be set at such a level as to fulfil such a necessity and may not be ongoing.

All financial support is subject to a Means Test. This is set out later in this document.

	Aged 0-12 years	Aged 13+ years
Basic Fostering Allowance	£174.19 per week	£230.76 per week
Competency Payment	£180.77 per week	£159.81 per week
Minus Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit

8. What Help will the Special Guardian get from Us?

If a child was looked after by CYPS before the Special Guardianship Order was made, we have a duty to assess the needs of:

• The child.
• The Special Guardian.
• The child's parents.

9. Special Guardianship Assessment

Where the child is or was a Looked After child immediately prior to the making of the Special Guardianship Order, the Council will undertake an assessment of needs for Special Guardianship support on request of:

• The child.
• The Special Guardian or prospective Special Guardian
• A parent (in relation to their need for support with contact and/or discussion groups).

Where the child is not or was not looked after child immediately prior to the making of the Special Guardianship Order, there is no requirement for the Council to undertake an assessment. The Council will use its discretion in deciding whether or not to provide this. However, the Council will be mindful of the need to ensure that children, who are not or were not looked      after, are not disadvantaged in the exercise of this discretion. If the Council decides not to assess, it will notify the person who made the request in writing, giving the reasons for this decision.

The following people may be offered an assessment for support services:

• The child (where not looked after)
• The Special Guardian or prospective Special Guardian
• A parent (where the child is not looked after).
• A child of the Special Guardian (where the child is looked after or not).
• Any person whom the Council considers to have a significant and ongoing relationship with the child (whether the child is looked after or not).

Straightforward requests for advice do not require an assessment and can be given by phone without the need for an interview.  Requests for advice will be logged.

The Council will aim for the assessment process to be as flexible as possible and where possible, will explore solutions to problems in partnership with the family; the Council will also consult with the PCT and Education concerning the child's relevant health and educational needs. Assessment should not delay the provision of services.

The assessments will cover all aspects of the Special Guardianship, including education, health or emotional needs of the child and any contact issues and will consider:

• The developmental needs of the child.
• The parenting capacity of the Special Guardian or prospective special guardian.
• The family and environmental factors that have shaped the life of the child.
• What life which the Special Guardian might be like for the child.
• Any previous assessment of the child or Special Guardian.
• The needs of the Special Guardian or prospective Special Guardian and their family.
• The impact of the Special Guardianship Order on the relationship between the child, parent and Special Guardian.

The assessment will consider how well existing services meet the needs of Special Guardianship families. It will also consider whether they should continue as before or be changed in any way. If services need to be changed and appropriate services are not available locally, financial support may be considered to meet the cost of services elsewhere.

In completing the financial assessment, the Council will have regard to:

• The Special Guardians' means.
• Financial resources that would need to be available to them if there was a child living with them.
• The amount required by the proposed Special Guardian in respect of their own reasonable needs.
• Financial needs relating to the child.
• The amount of fostering allowance payable if the child had been fostered.

The Council has the discretion not to means test:

• In considering 'one-off' payments associated with settling a child in
• Recurring costs in relation to travel expense for contact.
• Any special care the child needs.
• To provide a transitional period of payment to a former foster carer who    becomes Special Guardian.

The Council will consider all the child's circumstances in relation to those of the Special Guardian, with particular reference to:

• Enabling siblings and other children to be placed together.
• To facilitate the placement of 'harder to place' children.

10. Responding to an Application for Special Guardianship

Stage One - Information and Initial Assessment

Any person applying for a Special Guardianship Order must give 3 months' written notice to Children and Young People's Services of their intention to apply.  The only exception to the three month rule is where there is leave of the Court to make a competing application where an application for an Adoption Order has been made. Where a child is currently receiving a service the responsible team should respond.

For children not currently known to the Department referral details should be taken in by the Referral and Assessment Team. An Initial Assessment should be undertaken in Order to clarify the nature and extent of any needs.

Where the child's and family's needs meet eligibility criteria for provision of a service aside from the Special Guardianship Assessment the case should be transferred to the appropriate service, which should be provided alongside the Special Guardianship Assessment. Please note that the financial assessment should be completed by Access to Resource Team.

Where there are no other areas of need the case should be transferred to the Adoption Team; as should any case where the prospective Special Guardian is resident in Lambeth but the child is not.

Following receipt of notice written information regarding the process must be sent to the prospective Special Guardian and to the parents of the child in question about the process of assessment and preparation of the Court report. This should include information about Special Guardianship Support Services and how to request an assessment of needs. An information leaflet is available from the Adoption and Permanency Team.

The Court may make referral for a Special Guardianship Order in any family proceedings concerning the welfare of the child. This applies even where no application has been made and includes Adoption proceedings. The welfare of the child is always the Court's paramount consideration in such cases. The Court does not have to give three months' notice and the local authority is obliged to respond to the Court's request for an investigation. The Court cannot make the Order without a Special Guardianship report (CA 1989 S14A (11)).

Where Special Guardianship is under consideration as an option to secure permanency for a child who is Looked After by Lambeth, whether the prospective Special Guardian is a Family or Friend of the child, an Independent Fostering Agency Carer, or a Lambeth Foster Carer it is essential to involve the Fostering and Adoption Unit in these discussions at the earliest possible point, therefore at the point of receiving the referral a request should be made in writing by the Allocated Social Worker and Team Meeting for a Permanency Planning Meeting to be held to discuss the referral and the planning of the Special Guardianship Assessment.

Stage Two - Planning Meeting

Therefore once a referral has been received indicating that an application for Special Guardianship is to be made for a child by a prospective Special Guardian living in Lambeth or the child is Looked After by Lambeth, the child's Social Worker and Team Manager should arrange a meeting with the Adoption and Permanency Team.

The Adoption and Permanency Team Manager will chair the meeting and the Duty Social Worker in the Adoption and Permanency Team will minute the meeting. Information regarding Court timescales should be available and legal advice may be necessary where proceedings are current or in other complex cases.

This meeting should clarify and record information available regarding the needs of the child, the steps to be taken, who will assess and who will contribute to the report for the Court. If the child is not known to Children's Social Care, there will need to be an assessment of the needs of the child, their wishes and feelings according to their age and understanding and information about their family. The worker preparing the report will need to obtain information from another local authority should the child or guardian live in another local authority.

Where the child is Looked After or is receiving a current service, the Child's Social Worker will provide the assessment of the child and the family and the Adoption Team worker will assess the prospective Special Guardian.

Where the child is not currently receiving a service the assessment of both child and prospective Special Guardian should be undertaken by the Adoption and Permanency Team. If the child requires an ongoing service as a child in need this should be discussed with the Team Manager of the relevant service area.

At each stage of the Special Guardianship Assessment it will be essential that any financial assessment is conducted by the Access to Resources Team.

There is no requirement in the Regulations and Guidance for a prospective Special Guardian to be presented to the Permanency and Adoption Panel. However, in Order to secure consistency of approach to all forms of permanency for Looked After children and in recognition that children for whom Special Guardianship or Residence Orders are sought may have been the subject of previous panel decisions, all cases where the Authority is supporting a plan for Special Guardianship for a looked after child must be presented to panel.

Lambeth will use the DfCSF Model Means Test Scheme to determine the level of finance for each applicant.

The amount an individual family would receive from the local authority will be the deficit amount to the Basic Fostering Allowance as follows:

Example 1:

DfCSF Standardised Means Test	Basic Fostering Allowance for child under the age of 13-years	Local Authority's Special Guardianship Payment
£150 per week	£174.19 per week	£24.19 per week to each child

Example 2:

DfCSF Standardised Means Test	Basic Fostering Allowance for young person over the age of 13-years	Local Authority's Special Guardianship Payment
£78 per week	£230.76 per week	£152.76 per week to each child

Financial support should supplement not replace any existing means of support available.

Applicants will be helped to access advice on their entitlements to benefits, tax credits and allowances, as these will be taken into account when considering the amount of financial support entitlement.  This may include advice on the following:

• Incapacity benefit
• Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay or allowances.
• Bereavement benefits
• Working tax credits.
• Child tax credit
• Income Support
• Housing Benefit
• Child Benefit

Applicants should ensure that they take advantage of all benefit and tax credit entitlements available to them, via a Finance Officer from the Access to Resources Team.

11. Annual Review of Payments

Annual review for former Foster Carers who receive an allowance in connection with the Special Guardianship Order should simply be a check by Lambeth's Access to Resources Team that the child remains in placement and is in full-time education. Therefore, Access to Resources will send a Review Payment Form (Name) to Special Guardians on an annual where the Special Guardian would have to complete the relevant details in Order for additional payments to be made.

12. Special Considerations for Allowances

Payment of financial support is intended where the child's condition is serious and long term. e.g. where the child needs a special diet or items such as shoes, clothing or bedding need to be replaced at a higher rate than would be the case with a child of a similar age who was unaffected by the particular condition. The Special Guardianship Allowance is payable in addition to any specific allowance the child qualifies for; for example Disability Benefits such as Disability Living Allowance and Mobility Allowance.

The Council has discretion as to the levels of support, and particularly financial support, which is offered within its scheme. Regulations provide that the financial support may be subject to any condition the Council may wish to impose, including making payments for a specific purpose, or making them time-limited as in the situation for Foster Carers who will be paid the Fostering rate prior to the Special Guardianship Order, however this will by time-limited for 2-years after which the Special Guardian will be provided with the Basic Fostering Allowance. (See Section 1, Scheme for Payments for Foster Carers and other Family Placements Procedure).

13. Special Guardian Support Plan

Once the assessment has been completed, a written copy of it will be supplied.  In addition, a Special Guardian support plan will be completed that will set out the following:

• Aims of the plan and the services that will be provided.
• Timescales for providing the support detailed in the plan.
• Persons responsible for carrying out the plan, the support services they will be providing and when these will be provided.
• Measures that will be used to show if the support plan is successful.
• When the support plan will be reviewed.

The Plan will include any proposed financial support including:

• How the amount is calculated.
• Frequency of payments.
• Period over which it will be paid.
• Date that the first payment will be made.
• In the case of a single payment, when that payment will be made.
• Any conditions attached to the funds and consequences of failing to adhere to them.
• Arrangements for review, variation and termination of support.

A copy of the proposed Plan

• The proposed Plan will be sent to the person requesting support, giving them 28-days to make representations on the proposed plan.  Information on who to contact regarding independent advice and advocacy will be attached to the Plan.
• Copies of the final plan will be provided to Special Guardians or those who have requested support, with full reasons given as to the decisions that have been made.
• Review and then measure outcomes - Special Guardianship Support Plans will be reviewed at the following stages:
  1. When any change of circumstances take place e.g. when the family moves, the child ceases to live with the Special Guardianship family, the child dies or;
  2. There is any notable change in the family's financial circumstances, in the child's financial needs or resources.
• At any stage of implementation of the support plans, where this is considered appropriate.
• At least annually (from the date of Inception of Order).
• Where there is significant change of circumstances, such as serious changes in the behaviour of a child, a new assessment of needs will be undertaken.
• All changes to financial support will be determined by an assessment using the DfCSF Standardised Means Testing tool.
• The Council may decide to vary or terminate the provision of support after a review is carried out. In these cases, the person who made the application for support will be notified in writing and will be given 28 days to make representations.

Once the Special Guardianship Assessment has been completed, a written copy of the full given to the decisions that have been made will be supplied to the applicant, with the following details:

• Aims of the plan and services that will be provided;
• Timescales for providing the support detailed in the plan;
• Persons responsible for carrying out the plan, the support services will be reviewed and then the outcomes would be measured in Order to show if the support plan is successful;

Any support plan we agree will be written up as a service plan and reviewed annually from the date of inception of the Special Guardianship Order, the support package will be effective.

If the child was not Looked After by CYPS but the Special Guardian lives in the borough, we may still be able to carry out an assessment of need and offer support. Financial support can be given, depending on the Special Guardian's income and the child's specific needs.

Foster Carers who go on to become the child's Special Guardian will continue to receive their fostering fee for a maximum of two-years after the Order is made.

Financial assistance can also be provided to help with settling in costs for furniture and equipment, as well as for costs around contact with the child's family.

Applications for a Special Guardianship Order are made to the Court through a solicitor, but three months' notice must be provided to Lambeth in regards to the intention to apply. This is because the need to prepare the Special Guardianship Assessment Report for the Court about the perspective Special Guardians suitability to care for the child. The Court cannot make the Order without this report. Advice on how to apply for a Special Guardianship Order can be sought from a solicitor, the Citizens Advice Bureau or a law centre. Notice of applications and requests for assessments should be sent in writing to the Adoption Team .This is the team that will prepare the Court report and carry out any assessment of needs, alongside the Allocated Social Worker of designated Team for example if the child is Looked After - the CLA Team will complete the assessment. The Financial Assessment and Standardised Means Test will be completed by Access To Resources Team.

Where the application is not satisfied with the Support Plane, they have the right to appeal.

Appeals should be made in the first instance to the Assistant Director, Multi-Agency Children Looked After and Corporate Parenting.

Applicants who remain dissatisfied will be entitled to use the Council's Complaints Procedure. All applicants should be given details of how to make a complaint.

14. Special Guardianship Support Services

Looking after the child

• Child has Special Needs which are long-term
• Health
• Emotional needs

LA has to make special arrangements for the placement e.g. age; sibling placement.

• To meet reoccurring travelling costs for contact
• Introduction of child to Special Guardian;
• Where a local authority has decided to provide on-going financial support to an Special Guardianship placement before an Special Guardianship Order is granted, financial responsibility will remain with that local authority, irrespective of the place of residence of the family
• Counselling, advice and information.
• Financial support.
• Services to help groups of relevant children and their parents, Special Guardians and prospective Special Guardians to discuss matters related to Special Guardianship arrangements.
• Assistance, including mediation services, in relation to contact arrangements between a child and their natural parents or others who may share a significant relationship which the Council feels is beneficial to the welfare of the child.
• The Council may arrange for some support services such as health, or education to be provided by any of its partner agencies.
• Therapeutic services for the child.
• Assistance to support the continuation of the relationship between the child and the Special Guardian or prospective Special Guardian, including training to enable the special needs of the child to be met, respite care, and mediation in matters relating to the Special Guardianship Order.
• Where the prospective Special Guardian is the Foster Carer of the child, the Council will write to the carer setting out when the fostering placements ends and Special Guardianship placements begins. This will allow for a clear distinction to be made between the two types of placement.

15. Addendum - DfCSF Standardised Means Test

Click here for Addendum - DfCSF Standardised Means Test.

End