Amanda, a special guardian and mother from Wolverhampton, is extremely worried about the immediate cuts to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund. She thinks those cuts would be a disaster for families that depend on the program. Her two adoptive children, now 16 and 13, have received essential specialist therapy from the fund. This support has helped protect youth’s emotional and psychological health during these difficult times.
Last year, the fund delivered support to almost 20,000 underprivileged children, up from around 13,000 in 2019-20. The fund allowed eligible children to receive, on average, £2,500 for a specialist assessment and up to £5,000 to fund their therapy. Recent changes have cut the therapy cap to just £3,000 a year. They’ve done this after abolishing separate funding for specialist assessments. This drastic reduction fosters troubling implications regarding the future availability of essential services for children who rely on them.
Amanda’s son goes through OT for attachment trauma. Otherwise, funding would not be provided for this treatment through public services but he can only access it privately. She emphasized the significance of the fund, stating, “The fund is a lifeline and I still worry for my children how they’ll manage when they get older.” She isn’t just concerned about her family. She worries these cuts will dissuade the next set of families from taking in children who need adopted.
On May 3, over 1,000 people marched in London. They marched to demand that the government stop cutting funding. Campaigners fear that thousands of children could be deprived of much-needed therapy appointments. Without financial support to make up the difference from their families, these opportunities may come to a sudden close. Amanda articulated her distress over the situation, saying, “It’s devastating, not just for myself but thinking of families who are in crisis right now. It could make the difference between a child having to go into care. I don’t know what we would’ve done without it.”
Adoption UK described the announcement as “deeply shocking”. Families have been forced to sweat through an “agonising wait” just to find out what is going to happen to the fund. They reiterated Amanda’s concerns regarding the long-term impact these cuts could have on our most at-risk children.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the fund’s future, a spokesperson for the Department for Education announced that they would invest £50 million into the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund to continue its operation for another year. The spokesperson stated, “The decisions we have taken will ensure the fund is financially sustainable to allow more vulnerable children to access targeted support.”
Amanda highlighted the crucial role that this support system plays in the lives of adopted children, stating, “There have been times when it has been so hard, but knowing that the support is out there really does make the difference.” She further noted, “Adopted children are failed throughout their lives. The adoption support thing was the one thing we could rely on.”
