Research Report: Investigating Special Guardianship: Experiences, Challenges and Outcomes
Charlotte Goddard
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
University of York academics were funded by the Department for Education to investigate the effectiveness of special guardianship as an alternative to adoption.
Authors
Jim Wade, Ian Sinclair, Lucy Stuttard, University of York, and John Simmonds, British Association for Adoption and Fostering
Published by
Department for Education, November 2014
Summary
A special guardianship order (SGO) is a private legal order that enables a special guardian, usually relatives or family friends, to exercise full parental responsibility for a child up to the age of 18.
The researchers, working with the British Association for Adoption and Fostering, surveyed all local authorities and analysed national data on looked-after children and those leaving care. They also carried out a three- to six-year follow-up of a sample of families in seven local authorities where an SGO was made between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2009.
An estimated 8,971 SGOs were made for children in care during the study period from 2005 to 2012 with local authorities varying in the degree to which they used special guardianship. The percentage of children leaving care through adoption has dropped slightly since the introduction of SGOs, from 15 per cent to around 13 per cent, while the percentage of residence orders has risen from three per cent to five per cent. The researchers found a growing number of SGOs were made for children not previously looked-after by local authorities - an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 in the study period.
The average age of children receiving an SGO was five and a half while for those receiving an adoption order it was three years and eight months. The average time spent in care before receiving an SGO was two years and four months but there was wide variation, with 28 per cent subject to their first SGO within a year of entering care, 37 per cent in the second year, 12 per cent in the third year and 23 per cent from three to 15 years after entering the care system. The percentage of children receiving an SGO in their first year of care varied significantly by local authority from 0 to 86 per cent.
The percentage of children whose SGO necessitated a move between carers also varied hugely between local authorities, from 15 to 100 per cent. The proportion of SGOs made to unrelated carers varied from 0 to 42 per cent and the proportion of SGOs made to kinship carers from 24 to 91 per cent.
Only 2.3 per cent of children returned to the care system following the breakdown of an SGO, half after 15 months and half before this. The risk of breakdown increased with age at the time of the SGO and number of prior placements.
The intensive follow-up study of 230 families found many special guardians did not feel fully prepared by their local authority social worker. Most children were doing well in their placement when it came to personal and social development, and had become well integrated into family life. More than half - 59 per cent - of children were reported to be doing "very well" and 31 per cent "quite well".
Implications for practice
Assessments should take account of factors that predict difficulties later on, such as the quality of the pre-existing relationship between carer and child, the report suggests. Plans for special guardianship should be developed early as those who were younger at placement tended to fare better. Local authorities should consider developing preparation courses for special guardians along the lines of those provided to potential adopters.
Further Reading
Special Guardianship and Permanency Planning: Unforeseen Consequences and Missed Opportunities, Ananda Hall, Child and Family Law Quarterly, 2008. This article presents findings from a study investigating the use of special guardianship in the first two years after it was introduced.
Special Guardianship in Practice, J Wade, J Dixon, A Richards, British Association for Adoption and Fostering, 2010. This book considers what needs to happen to make special guardianship work successfully.
The Role of Special Guardianship: Best Practice in Permanency Planning for Children (England and Wales), John Simmonds, British Association for Adoption and Fostering, 2011. A guide focusing on the issues that need to be considered in relation to special guardianship assessments, planning, process and support.
Felt confident a special guardianship order was right for the carer andchild
Not at all - 10.5%
To some degree - 27.5%
Very much so - 62%
Total: 105
Felt able to properly consider the pros and cons of other options
Not at all - 18%
To some degree - 29.5%
Very much so - 52.5%
Total: 99
Able to choose special guardianship free from local authority pressure
Not at all - 20.5%
To some degree - 21.5%
Very much so - 58%
Total: 97
Felt prepared for the special guardianship role
Not at all - 16.5%
To some degree - 32.5%
Very much so - 51%
Total: 98
Child was prepared in an age appropriate way
Not at all - 20%
To some degree - 27.5%
Very much so - 52.5%
Total: 80
Understood what support was available to care for the child
Not at all - 26%
To some degree - 37.5%
Very much so - 36.5%
Total: 96
Source: Department for Education
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