SGO

[Cassimin]

Anyone got any advice either for or against SGO?
FS been with us 9 years so not going anywhere, have been advised by his SW to go for SGO. I’m kind of thinking it would be better for us as support we have had is 0, do everything ourselves anyway.
Has no contact with family.
Is very much our son but without PR

The difference is obviously you get less money and theoretically less support but the advantages can be great - you'd get PR, there would be no social work visits or reviews, no foster carer reviews and mandatory training etc
You'd also still get access to whatever SGO support your LA offers.

Thanks for that.
His SW has said I would get more financial support as we are with an agency and he has disabilities.
I like the upside of no more visits, training, meetings etc but worried that his support from them would stop. ( not that he gets any now but it’s a bit of a security blanket)
Also I have been told by other carers that they could stop financial support at any time.

I was asked by my FD sw if I would do SGO
my girl too has issues and we felt she should keep her access to support from her SW especially now we all in a covid pandemic.
I understand LA can offer financial help but remove it too.
How old is your FS?

Nearly 13, been with us since 4.
Have spoken to other carers and nearly everyone advises against.
Most concern comes around when they are due to leave care, financial support for us and them.
I doubt very much that he will leave us at 18, no way will he be mature enough and he has no contact with his birth family anymore.
Think it will probably be a no as I haven’t heard of anyone who has had a really positive experience.

countless stories of all sorts of promises of help and/or financial support if you do an SGO and once signed they just run for the hills ! WE recently took on a group of siblings from sgo carers who were let down by LA and thus they couldnt cope,

That must have been awful f0stercarer, both for the children and the carers as they wouldn’t have gone into it without a lot of thought.
Looks like the negatives outweigh the positives.
When I’ve looked into it further you need to claim benefits for the child, child benefit, tax credits etc.
Don’t think I can be bothered going down that route.

A friend went for an SGO. She was advised that there would be no detriment financially. Further along she discovered this wasn't actually true! Be careful and read the small print of the SGO!

It's possible to get the same allowance on SGO but you must get it agreed to in writing before the SGO goes through

You will get ZERO support on an SGO so if it's support you're after, fostering is the way forward

Thanks everyone.
Got a meeting next week.
The support isn’t really a problem as we do everything ourselves and always have.
The financial support is a different matter. I’m concerned that when he’s 16 it will stop whereas if he was still looked after he would be moved to staying put.
While he is with us it is not possible to foster any more children although we are approved for 3 so it has already been hitting us financially.
Any ideas as to what questions I should be asking?

Under SGO you're entitled to non means tested allowance until the child is 18 or leaves full time education and that allowance should be in line with local fostering rates but that's up to each local authorities discretion

Contact Family Rights Group they will guide you

Thanks Cait73 I’ll have a google for them. It’s come at a bad time as my social worker who was really good and knew our family set up well has just left.

Oh gosh that's not good, luckily I've had the same social worker throughout but even so I've had to educate myself and do most things myself, if they don't HAVE to do something they won't

FRG are brilliant they'll give you the tools you need to lock this down once and for all 💪🏼

We have a SGO for our 2 GS.
We had to really fight for the financial support but luckily the judge backed us and we've got it until they turn 18.
This was quite a few years ago and no attempts have been made to stop it.
We have had no contact from SS since the SGO was put in place which for us is a definite plus point, but if we wanted any support i very much doubt we will get it!

I have my gs on CAO we're in the process of SGO I won't agree to it without financial support (which they're actually doing now 3 months ahead of final hearing) I'll be glad to see the back to SS and their non existent support!

Had my meeting and decided against.
The thought of no SW visits was tempting but when I weighed it up it is better for him to have the support.
All help would stop at 18 but without SGO it will carry on until 25.
They were painting it that some children don’t feel settled or part of a family while they have SW visits, lac reviews, peps etc.
Our Fc doesn’t attend any of these meetings and he doesn’t talk to his Sw so that’s not a concern.
He knows he’s with us forever and we won’t move him on so he’s secure in that.
Financially, they said they’d offer support but we would be expected to claim benefits and they would be deducted from any payments they give.
I think having Ss as a security blanket and them having to offer him financial support should he decide to leave is the best for us.