A special guardianship order is sometimes made in care proceedings as an alternative to a child arrangements order, a long-term foster placement or adoption.
A special guardianship order secures secure the child’s long-term placement with the special guardian. When a special guardianship order is made the special guardian acquires parental responsibility for the child. The enables them to make day to day decisions about the care of the child. This will include who they should spend time with.
If an interim care order was made during care proceedings then this will end on the making of a special guardianship order. It is the special guardian who will then make decisions in respect of the child and not the local authority.
In order to be made a special guardian you must be at least eighteen years old and must not be a parent of the child. It is possible for joint applications to be made by, for an example, a child’s older sibling and their partner. Joint applicants do not have to be married.
There are a number of situations in which it is possible to apply for a special guardianship order although the most common is when a child has been placed in the care of a potential special guardian during care proceedings and the local authority is supporting the application.
You can also apply to be made a special guardian if you are an approved foster carer and the child has been living with you for at least one year, the child is living with you and has done so for at least three of the last five years, you are the guardian of the child, you have a child arrangements order in your favour, you are a relative of the child and the child has lived with you for at least one year or you have the permission of the court to make the application.
Before the court will make a special guardianship order you will have to be assessed by the local authority. The local authority will prepare a report for the court so that it can determine whether a prospective special guardian is suitable.
A special guardianship is sometimes preferred to a child arrangements order because it offers enhanced parental responsibility which enables them to safeguard the child against potentially damaging parental influences. If a child arrangements order were made then the child’s parents retain parental responsibility which gives them greater influence over the child and has the potential to destabilise a placement.
A special guardianship order also allow potentially allows a special guardian to access local authority support services, including financial support, that would not be available if a child arrangements order was made.
An automatic entitlement to an assessment for support services is, however, only available if the child was being looked after by the local authority. Other applicants can also request an assessment by the right to be assessed is not automatic.
However, if a child is not (or was not) looked after by a local authority, then there is no automatic entitlement to an assessment for special guardianship support services. It is possible to request an assessment for support in this situation.
We are expert family lawyers with a wealth of experience in this area. Many of our lawyers are family law specialists accredited by the Law Society and Resolution. Free legal aid may be available to make a special guardianship application if care proceedings have been issued by the local authority and you have been made a party to proceedings. If care proceedings have been issued and the local authority is proposing that you apply to be a special guardian but you are not a party to proceedings then the local authority may agree to pay a contribution to your legal fees. If you do not qualify for legal aid and the local authority will not pay your legal fees then our normal hourly rates will apply.