We’ve responded to the Department for Education’s consultation on making adoption and kinship system of support better, fairer, and more efficient. The consultation also addressed the future of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF), calling for long-term, sustainable funding and a broader understanding of evidence-based support for adopted children and their families.

In our response, we welcomed proposals aimed at improving children’s experiences of adoption support, while warning that continued short-term funding arrangements are undermining continuity of care and placing specialist services under increasing pressure.

Clearer support pathways for families

We backed proposals to improve support planning for adopted children through locally and regionally tailored Practice Guides. Professional Guides provide professional guidance to standardise how adoption services are delivered. This could help children and families better navigate complex care pathways and make informed decisions about the support that best meets their needs.

We stressed that specialist independent and third sector providers, including counsellors and psychotherapists registered on Professional Standards Authority accredited registers such as ours, should be included in these guides to ensure families can access appropriately trained professionals.

Substantiable long-term funding is vital

Jennifer Smith, our interim Children, Young People and Families Lead, said:

“Children and families need clarity, consistency and access to high-quality specialist support. Practice Guides can play an important role in helping families navigate services, but this must be underpinned by sustainable long-term funding that allows providers to deliver continuity of care.”

We also highlighted the damaging impact of repeated short-term extensions to the ASGSF - arguing that annual funding decisions create uncertainty for families, practitioners and service providers alike.

Wider understanding of evidence-based support

We also supported proposals to strengthen the evidence base for clinical adoption support therapies, including greater investment in research and evaluation.

However, we warned against relying too heavily on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) as the sole measure of effectiveness. We argued that qualitative research, case studies, mixed methods approaches and service evaluation data all provide valuable evidence about the impact of therapeutic support, particularly in complex and highly individualised areas such as adoption and trauma.

Our response noted that many adoption support services, particularly in the third sector, lack the stable funding needed to participate in large-scale research programmes. We pointed to the recent 40 per cent reduction in ASGSF funding – from £5,000 to £3,000 per child – as an example of the financial pressures facing providers.

We said the reduction has already limited the amount of support many services can offer, with some providers reporting they can now only deliver support for part of the year instead of year-round care.

Avoiding a “postcode lottery”

We welcomed proposals to give local and regional decision makers greater involvement in funding decisions but cautioned that this must not result in unequal access to support across the country.

We called for a nationwide baseline “minimum offer” for children and families to ensure consistent standards of care regardless of where they live.

Stretched services

In response to proposals around value for money and benchmarking, we warned that poorly designed cost-cutting measures could further destabilise already stretched services.

We highlighted the extensive training, supervision and ongoing professional development undertaken by registered counsellors and psychotherapists, noting that variations in costs often reflect practitioner expertise, geographical differences and specialisms.

We said any benchmarking process must recognise these realities and be supported by adequate funding levels that enable services to remain sustainable while continuing to deliver high-quality care for children and families.

Reforms must recognise specialist practitioners

“Adoption support services are already operating under significant financial strain. Any reforms must recognise the expertise of specialist practitioners and ensure funding decisions prioritise quality, sustainability and the needs of children and families above short-term savings,” added Jenny.

Adoption specialist, consultant child psychotherapist and BACP member, Alison Roy, who has worked with adoptive families for over twenty years, said:

“Whilst I welcome the government’s ‘Adoption support that works for all’ consultation, I would want to see a concerted effort made by government to show that they understand the complexity, chronicity and overwhelming challenges faced by adoptive families when it comes to provision of resources. 

"Isolation and despair"

“Parents and young people feel that they are constantly having to re-tell their story to different professionals who come and go, and don't appear to have the time or resources to build a meaningful connection or properly support them. This lack of understanding and connection adds to their sense of isolation and despair. For developmentally traumatised children, longevity and consistency is key.  

“Comprehensive funding is needed to support partnership working between statutory, community and private providers like experienced counsellors and psychotherapists. This would provide a more holistic and joined up approach both locally and nationally in terms of practical support but also when it comes to mental health assessments and treatment.”

More information

Read our full consultation response to the adoption support that works for all consultation here (Adoption support that works for all consultation response 64.8 MB)

If you’d like to get in touch with our policy team about their work, please email publicaffairs@bacp.co.uk