New data reveals more than half of adoptive families negatively affected by government cuts to therapeutic funding

Data published today (Wednesday 13th May) reveals that cuts to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF), introduced last April, are impacting thousands of families through reduced or abruptly ended therapeutic support. 

New early findings from a major survey of those impacted by adoption, the Adoption Barometer 2026, to be published in June, show that more than half of respondents have been negatively affected by the 40% reduction to the fund. Alarmingly, the worst affected were the families with the highest level of need. 

Emily Frith, CEO of Adoption UK, said: “The ASGSF is a lifeline for many adoptive families. It has helped thousands of adopted children and those in eligible kinship care navigate challenges and begin to heal from significant early life trauma. Each year, around 85% of adoptive families who use the fund tell us it has had a positive impact on their family. 

“The data released today shows just how widespread the impact of cuts to this vital fund has been. Many adoptive families are now facing delays to therapy, reduced support packages and, in some cases, the sudden withdrawal of services altogether. 

“With the government currently consulting on the future of adoption support, the future of the fund hangs in the balance. Now is the time for an honest conversation about priorities for children at risk. We need an ambitious vision for adoption support based on meeting the needs of children who have faced the hardest starts in life, not one driven primarily by efficiency savings. That must include a legal right to the support identified in an assessment of needs.” 

The data has been shared as part of Adoption UK’s response to the government’s consultation on adoption support. (link) 

The findings are particularly concerning for families with the highest levels of need. These families are often caring for children who have experienced significant trauma, abuse, neglect, loss, or multiple foster placements before adoption, and who may therefore have complex emotional, behavioural, developmental, or mental health needs requiring intensive therapeutic support. 

In 2025, these families were less likely to receive enhanced adoption support - including therapeutic interventions funded through the ASGSF - than at any point in the previous eight years of Barometer reporting. 

Among families who did receive ASGSF-funded support last year, almost half said they had been forced to reduce the support they received. Forty per cent reported delays to their application, while more than a third experienced an unplanned break in therapy. Most families facing a funding shortfall said their agency would not cover any of the gap. Just 2% said their agency covered all the shortfall, while only 3% said their agency covered part of it. 

Although local authorities have a legal duty to assess the support needs of adopted children and young people, the findings highlight the gap between assessment and delivery, with provision of support still largely left to local discretion. More than a third of respondents who applied to the ASGSF in 2025 said they were unable to access support identified in their assessment of need because of cuts to the Fair Access Limit, while more than a quarter could not access all identified support because funding for specialist assessments had been removed. 

The findings raise serious questions about the government’s proposed reforms to adoption support. Without a statutory duty on local authorities to provide the support identified through assessments - and without sufficient protected funding - there is a real risk that assessments become little more than empty promises to families already under significant pressure. 

Moreover, the government’s plans for reform include little reference to the lifelong impact of adoption and the need for support for adult adoptees. Adoption UK is calling for support to be lifelong. 

Adoption UK is urging the government to retain a centrally managed support fund and work collaboratively with adoptees, families, and the wider sector on future reforms. The charity is also calling for a statutory duty on local authorities to provide the support identified in assessments of need, carried out by multidisciplinary teams including clinical psychology expertise. Fundamentally, Adoption UK is calling for funding for therapeutic interventions for adoptees to be ringfenced and made permanent. 

 

 

Manage Cookie Preferences