Investigating special guardianship : experiences, challenges and outcomes

Special guardianship is overwhelmingly used for children, predominantly young children, living with relatives or family friends (mostly grandparents or aunts and uncles). Its location within kinship care is the most marked difference with adoption. In excess of 13,000 special guardianship orders were made within the study period. Almost two-thirds of children were reported to have been at risk of abuse or neglect (63.5 per cent).