Children and families

Special guardianship: Support you get

Find out about the financial and practical support that's available for special guardians.

Financial support: Special guardian allowance

If you are a special guardian, you may be able to get a special guardian allowance from us. The special guardian allowance is discretionary, which means children’s services don’t have to pay it to you.

It is also means-tested, which means if you get it and how much you get will depend on your financial situation

A social worker will assess your circumstances, decide what support you should get and review that support every year. 

How to extend the special guardian allowance allowance after 18

The allowance ends at 18, unless the child continues in full time education. You must get a letter or email from the school or college confirming the child's name, date of birth, the course they are studying and when it ends. When you have this evidence, please call our Children’s Advice and Support Service (CASS) on 0151 459 2606 and tell them you'd like to make a special guardianship support enquiry.

Support for special guardianship families

If the child was looked after by Liverpool City Council before the SGO was granted, we have a duty to assess the support needs of special guardianship families.

If the child was not looked after by us, you can still ask us to assess your needs. 
See our list of support organisations in Liverpool [links to page her or related links column in RH side of page].

Once we have assessed the needs of the special guardian, child or birth relative, we will prepare the written plan, known as the support plan.

If you disagree with the support that is offered to you, you can make representations to Liverpool City Council, after which they will make a final decision.

How to request support

Any family member, or a professional working with your family (providing they have gained consent) can make a request for support from the special guardianship support team.

You do this by contacting Careline on 0151 233 3700 and requesting a special guardianship support enquiry.