Post adoption support ‘lifeline’ extended for adoptive families

The Adoption Support Fund (ASF) has been secured until March 2025, the Department for Education has confirmed.

This will take the ASF to its tenth year of funding. No details have yet been announced about the size of the fund or any changes to the way it operates, following a review last year.

The ASF funds therapeutic support for families in England whose children left care through adoption or special guardianship arrangements. These children are likely to have experienced severe trauma prior to coming into care and many need therapeutic support to help them thrive.

Responding to the announcement, Adoption UK’s chief executive Dr Sue Armstrong Brown said: “This is very good news, anxiously awaited by the adoption community. The Adoption Support Fund is a lifeline for thousands of families who are parenting some of the most vulnerable children in the country.”

Since its introduction in 2015, the Government has invested more than £200m in the ASF. Around 61,000 families have benefitted from the fund.

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If only we could access it. Too many of our children are refused any therapy and there seems to be no recourse.

From: Donna Lee

Published: 04 February 2022
The ASF is an unfair fund because it is also for special guardianship families - but only some special guardianship families. Those who prevented children from entering care don't get this fund. These are the same children with the same needs - not getting the same support. Many adopted children have special guardianship siblings. It is fundamentally wrong that siblings with the same needs do not get the same support - and may never see each other again because of the way permanence is done in the UK. There are many problems with this fund that are not spoken of. Battling to keep it has become a distraction in a system that is not fit for purpose where legislative and policy reform are desperately needed to keep up with social change.

From: Sylvia Schroer

Published: 02 February 2022
You’re perpetuating the falsehood that *only* those who were traumatised in their birth families need support. This makes it sound like adoptive parents are fixing broken children rather than a source of the trauma itself. The truth is that ANYONE who is separated from their birth family and raised by strangers experiences trauma, whether they realise it or not. The failure to acknowledge this fact and deal with the issues appropriately is very damaging to us as adoptees. Perhaps you could actually listen for once? Also, I see there is a comment about adoptees being “potentially returned back into the system”. Lovely to hear once again that adoption is only a one-way commitment. By the child.

From: Vanessa Nolan

Published: 02 February 2022
This is good news & even better that its been agreed for the next 2 years rather than 1! Application to funding is through your post adoption social worker. They have to do an assessment of needs first, definitely worth doing. as the issues facing adoptive families is not the fault of the children, nor their adoptive parents & are usually issues that take many many years (if ever) to over come. It's more about how to more effectively manage the issues rather than to fix them!

From: kathryn hooper

Published: 02 February 2022
How do I apply for some funding please

From: Sutherland Tracy

Published: 02 February 2022
This is such fantastic news for those of us that have adoptive children. The funds really are essential in providing the support families need as they are often in crisis through no fault of their own or their child’s and these funds allow the therapies to take place that allow families to remain together. The reality is therapy is expensive and a lot of these children could potentially be returned back into the system if those therapies were not available. The funding is a lifeline for the adoptive community.

From: Lesley Davies

Published: 02 February 2022
Is this also the case in Wales or just England?

From: Sarah Harrington

Published: 02 February 2022
My 12 year old is adopted but came to me at 4 days old with drink and drugs in him He is now feeling the issues of the drink and drugs from when he was a baby Can I get any support and funding please so he can have a therapist to him him with his issues Thank you

From: Sutherland Tracy

Published: 02 February 2022