THE government has today announced a 40% cut in the amount that will be available per child from the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) this financial year – a Fund set up to provide specialist support for traumatised children and young adults. The ASGSF has helped create a better future for tens of thousands of young people over the last decade.

The total pot remains the same as last year at £50m – a great relief to the thousands of families who benefit. However there are 3 significant changes to the way the money will be allocated, which will have a direct impact on the children who rely on it. The ‘Fair Access Limit’ has been reduced from £5,000 to £3,000 per child per year. The £2,500 per child per year set aside for specialist assessments has been dropped altogether. Finally, the ASGSF will no longer match fund support for children with an exceptional level of need. Until now it provided up to 50% of the funding for up to £30,000 per child, with the rest provided by the local authority.

These changes are to prevent the Fund being overspent, which has been the case in recent years due to increasing demand. The Fund effectively expired before the government made a last minute announcement on 1st April that it would continue into the new financial year. The new arrangements will cause a further delay while adoption agencies make adjustments to applications for funding for the families they represent.

Adoption UK CEO Emily Frith said:- “These decisions will have a direct impact on children and young people who have had a very tough start in life and deserve the same chance to thrive as everyone else. We understand that this isn’t just about the Fund – it’s a consequence of belt tightening across government. But it’s very short sighted at a time when there are more adoptive families in crisis than ever before, and distressing news for everyone who has already faced an agonising wait to find out whether the Fund will continue to exist at all. The government must use the forthcoming spending review to make a commitment to build the Fund back up to where adopted and special guardianship children need it to be.” 

Around 3,000 children in England are placed in adoptive families each year. Most have suffered abuse, neglect, or violence and spend an average of 15 months in care before adoption, often with a number of moves while in care, losing everything that is familiar to them along the way. It is common for adopted people to need support throughout their lives.

Research by Adoption UK shows the overwhelming majority (82%) of adopters say their family has seen real benefit from the support the ASGSF has provided.