The government announced on 27th June that over £2 million of new funding will be made available to ten councils across the country in order to provide support to help adopted children settle into their new families.

The £2million has been allocated to the Adoption Support Fund which has been bought in following the Children and Families Act 2014.  It is envisaged that this money currently allocated to ten local authorities will be used to provide support, such as therapy and family support sessions, to new adoptive families to ensure that the placement does not break down.  After the first year a further £19.3 million will be added to the Adoption Support Fund with a view to it then being accessed nationally.  Overtime it is hoped that Local Authorities, adoption agencies and other organisations will add money to the fund to ensure that there is a constant flow of support services.

Samantha Sanders, a Lawyer at the Adoption Legal Centre, commented

“This is great news for families who are currently looking into or have just started the adoption process.  Post adoption support is one of the key issues we see at the Adoption Legal Centre as to why a placement breaks down.  It is hoped that with this key investment into those support services which are desperately needed help the placements to succeed and flourish.  Every child has a right to grow up in a loving and stable environment.  When a child is placed for adoption not all issues are identified at the time of placement, therefore ongoing access to support services is key to ensure that the placement is long lasting.

The only concern is that the support is not being offered nationally now.  Only ten local authorities have access to the Adoption Support Fund which makes it a postcode lottery as to whether adoptive families will have access to it now when it is desperately needed or in a year’s time when it could be to late”.

Here at the Adoption Legal Centre we want to make sure that the adoptive parents get the support they require at the earliest opportunity instead of waiting until the placement looks like it is going to break down.  If you are starting the adoption process or have already adopted and require additional support then please contact our team at the Adoption Legal Centre.

For the full article see

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/extra-2-million-of-support-available-for-adoptive-families