Adoption & Special Guardianship - Procedure & Practical Issues Explored

Introduction

Adoption cases can often involve some knotty procedural, practical issues and legal technicalities. They are often far from run of the mill. In many cases they are the end game in proceedings whose earlier stages are in the very different and more mainstream disciplines of the care application, or, occasionally, the private children law application.

Special guardianship cases sometimes involve the general family lawyer being parachuted into a care case, again often right at the end, and feeling that they are being bulldozed into a conclusion with insufficient time and information to properly look after the clients' interests. Whilst usually paid to advise by the local authority, this is under time limits which do not always allow enough time to read the papers, take instructions and advise.

What You Will Learn

This course will cover the following:

• The Adoption and Children Act welfare checklist
• The basic nuts and bolts of adoption applications and the effect of adoption orders
• The changes to the whole care and adoption process following the Children & Families Act 2014
• Case law, including Re B and Re BS, Re D [2022], Re B (Adequacy of Reasons) [2022], YP (Adoption of an 18 yo), I-A (Revocation of Adoption Order)
• The contrasting merits of adoption, special guardianship and foster care and the legal test the court applies
• The role and processes of the local authority, in particular:
• The Adoption Panel and similar processes for SG applicants/contenders
• Where the lawyer for the applicant fits in and what they need to do
• Eligibility for making adoption and SG applications
• What the local authority must do in relation to SG candidates
• Placement order applications
• International issues and where to get help
• Relinquishing children for adoption
• Step-parent adoptions
• Contact issues during the placement order process
• Adoption support (financial and otherwise)
• Special guardianship support (financial and otherwise)
• Last minute challenges by parents and revocation of adoption orders
• Post adoption contact