Permanent Fostering/special guardianship

[sarahhoppity]

We have been approved as permanent Foster Carers for 3 siblings who have been with us for well over 3 years. We have always been very clear we want to be long term foster carers. LA repeatedly ask us about special guardianship. There are a number of reasons we don't want to go down this route, one is financial but other important considerations too, which we have put in writing. Do we just have to keep batting this back or can we say "enough" we'll let you know if we are ready to move to special guardianship? Has this happened with anyone else? We foster through LA

Support for SGO's is changing be it ever so slow, Some aspects such as Pupil Premium + £1900pa can be claimed for on going Educational Support, Hopefully the Aftercare adoption Support fund and Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Assessment's and long-term support, will also be extended too
SGO's, Because a child leaving care be it Adoption , SGO's or other the child's problems are not sprinkled away with Magic Fairy Dust , but are and can be on-going often problems surfacing some years after placement.
Some LA's offer this already be it un-OFFICIAL. But watch this area think this will all change soon and will hopefully do what some LA's are doing will roll out Nationally, With after Care support for all leaving care and Support, Education, IEP's Etc. being continued by LA's and Virtual HEAD's.
AT the Moment all support has too be applied for by confidential and VOLUNTRY submissions, via Schools , charity's and so on. Millions of £s of available support are not being applied for, mainly because people don't know what is available. , Yet can be applied for , some is used in whole school budgets rather than the individual, schools in General do not have the expertise in areas of attachment's, Trauma, and latent emotional , and mental health issues of EX Looked after children.
Centralizing the system could address these issues including mandatory training for Schools , Nursery's, and Teachers. Adoption after care Support fund start's also includes FASD Assessments May 2015 See details wwwfirst4Adoption.org.uk
See same site for Pupil Premium + and FAQ's for SGO's and Family carer and FAQ's how too apply for funding. Also New Pupil Premium+ Early(from Age 2) years education for SGO's and leaving care will be available also from May 2015. same criteria will apply ( Again all Voluntary submissions and application apply if you don't ask you don't get SAD) Time criteria of in care ONE DAY

Sorry Missed the dot www.first4adoption.org.uk

I hope you do not mind me responding to a comment by Soon, which is now a few weeks old. I read it tonight, and have to say I was rather upset that she considered this a "job" for love rather than money.

At the moment we have four children with us, from three different families. As we are quite experienced (20+ years) the children/teenagers are very challenging and involved in very complex legal cases. Obviously I cannot say anything further, but have to say our weeks are composed of meetings, reviews, medicals, therapy sessions, taking children to and from contact, have the children's half terms completely filled with contact sessions (meaning no days out for us). I looked back through my diary and because of the very complex nature of two of the children the last day I had free, and by free I mean free of appointments connected to the foster children, was late September. As someone else states, yes giving the children their tea, washing their clothes, reading bedtime stories, we would happily do that for free....but the other part, no way. Why should we sit at multi-disciplinary meetings with other professionals who are being paid, and be the only ones not to. All the legal meetings and paperwork, which gets more and more each month, takes all week. One child is has also been excluded from school for the past two months (no new school has been identified for them) so am also trying to do some home tuition also. Last month we drove over 900 miles in taking the children to legal or medical appointments - that obviously costs a great deal of time and money. I might be being over sensitive to your remarks, Soon, or maybe frankly just exhausted, but I work ten times harder at this than I have ever done at any other job and yet receive only a fraction of what I was then paid. Being a foster carer for the LA, in our case is a financial burden, we rely on our savings to get by...but were we not to receive an allowance at all, well it would be impossible. I probably spend far, far more time at appointments/reviews/meetings than I do actually caring for the children, and I feel I should get paid for the former.

River, I absolutely understand and agree with what you're experiencing. I am always incredulous that people believe that foster care is a case of bringing an extra sibling into your home. Like you I foster 'difficult to place' teenagers. I've had frankly horrendous things happen in my home - children deliberately go on the rampage smashing mirrors, light fittings, furniture (because they wanted to be placed in a children's home and had been told this was the way to get there), had to sleep in shifts because a child had to be watched 24/7. I've had a child who was involved in an extremely serious crime and had to be an appropriate adult and go through a court case with them. Of course there are some periods with calm placements, but the usual appointments have to take place, reviews etc.

We haven't had a holiday together as a couple for many years. Respite care is not allowed, so we have given up on the idea of any time alone as a couple. Don't get me wrong, we still enjoy fostering and intend to continue fostering for the next couple of years until we retire, but it's a massive kick in the teeth when people suggest we should do this for 'the love of looking after children' and that it's somehow wrong to be financially compensated for the job we do.

OK - Two issues here! Yes, it's OK to foster for money. Why is money and care such a difficult concept for people to understand? Fostering is a professional role by professional people and foster carers should be proud of this title - they certainly earn it! any one who thinks otherwise, clearly has no idea of what it means to be a foster carer.

In respect of the SGO question - keep batting it back. Most LA's are really strapped for cash and SGO's are a cheaper option. However, this is not always in the best interest of the children. We have had LA's blackmail carers in to saying they must take the SGO route or they will find a family who will. we have challenged this through an advocate for the children and won after threatening a judicial review of the decision making! You are rightly a professional carer and once you take the SGO you will loose this status. This includes not just the money but also the valued support of the LA SW, education, therapy ect.. You should quote the Welfare principle if you are pressured - is this in the best interest of the children??

Hope that helps

Totally agree Jacob - am a retired social worker/manager with a career spanning some 30 years. Do you mind my asking the ages of these children OP? As others have said SGOs are much favoured by social workers as they can then back out and close the case - all problems that might arise will have to be dealt with by the people with the SGO.

How ridiculous for a social worker to say they will find a family who will apply for an SGO. Permanent foster carers for sibling groups are as rare as hen's teeth, so where are they going to find people willing to apply for an SGO for a sibling group.

I'm a bit out of date on funding an SGOs as retired in 2009. At the time the Regs stated that LAs were only required to provide the equivalent to fostering allowances for children previously Looked After for 2 years after the making of the SGO. I think this might have changed now? I heard of a case where the family had it written into the court docs that funding would continue till the children were 18. However I suspect it is still discretionary and as such can be reduced or stopped.

I imagine the sw is being pressured by her manager and she/he will be being pressured by senior managers wrestling with every decreasing budgets. Nonetheless this is not your problem and I advise you to stand firm.

Nice to see you NanaNina, I have missed your thoughts on these boards! I hope you are keeping well xxx

Well think change is over due, all are messing around with politics' ., Despite surge in Adoption , SGO's, Fostering too Adopt, initiatives the Actual current rate for all has dropped by 47%. , Leaving more children in foster care, and children's homes , Main reason's are legal and support.
Government are in a mess trying too redress their political mess.