Since its establishment in 2015, the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) has been a lifeline for thousands of families, providing vital therapeutic support to adopted children, young people under Special Guardianship or Child Arrangement Orders, and their families - with over 40,000 families benefitting from the fund as of 2022. However, after a delay in confirming the renewal of the fund, the Department for Education (DfE) recently announced there are significant changes to the fund - changes that will impact many families who already draw down on the fund, acknowledging that the fund will now also be accessible by a greater number of families.

From April 2025, the annual fair access limit (FAL) for therapy will be reduced from £5,000 to £3,000 per child. The separate £2,500 allocation for specialist assessments will be scrapped, meaning assessments will now have to be funded within the £3,000 cap. Additionally, the government has removed the matched-funding provision for higher-cost support packages. These changes come despite the ASGSF's overall budget remaining static at £50 million - the same amount it has received annually since 2015 - meaning that, in real terms, the fund has effectively been reduced when measured against inflation.

At Home for Good, we have significant concerns about the impact these changes will have on children and young people. We walk alongside many families who navigate the often-complex journey of adoption and special guardianship. Therapeutic support is not a luxury, it is essential.

In line with our ongoing work, we are continue in our role as a critical friend to the current government, advocating for the strengthening of adoption. Through our report 'Investing in Families' we demonstrated the positive impact of the Adoption Support Fund and we continue to call for the ASGSF to be made a permanent fixture in the budget, thus removing the cliff-edge cycle of budget renewal.

How You Can Take Action

Tell us your views

Home for Good aims to provide the Department for Education with high-quality empirical data on what adoptive and SGO families need from the ASGSF. Your detailed input will help us offer clear feedback and guidance on these needs.

Complete the survey

Pray with us

We want to pray for (a) families affected by these changes; (b) politicians making life-changing decisions in the context of national financial pressures across social care and beyond; and (c) churches, that they would offer wrap-around support to families needing extra help in light of reduced interventions from the fund.

Father God, we lift before you every adoptive and special guardianship family. Give them strength, wisdom, and hope. We thank you for the ASGSF and for what remains but we ask for more resources Lord. We pray for decision-makers and politicians - grant them compassion, clarity, and a deep understanding of the needs of these children and families. We pray for our nation Lord, would there be a spirit of generosity and grace, of communities holding each other and that our children and young people would be invested in to, by us each individually, corporately and beyond. Amen.