Family Futures responds to the government’s announcement on the future of the ASGSF

Family Futures welcomes today’s announcement by Josh MacAlister MP confirming that the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) will be extended until March 2028, with a budget of £55m for 2026/27. Providing longer-term certainty for adoptive and kinship families is an important step, particularly given the disruption and instability caused by recent funding reductions and delays.

Since 2015, the ASGSF has enabled many children with complex developmental trauma to access specialist therapeutic support. However, Family Futures’ experience in the past 27 years shows that short-term, fragmented funding is not sufficient to meet the support needs of children who have experienced abuse, neglect and early loss. Without timely, multidisciplinary assessment of a child’s unique needs and long-term therapy that is tailored to address those needs, we will continue to see adoptive and kinship families left struggling or in crisis.

Children who have been through trauma, loss or abuse have developmental needs that affect their sensory and nervous systems, brain development, mental and physical health. The impact of trauma also escalates without the right support, leading to placement strain, long-term harm, crisis and potentially adoption breakdown at great personal cost and financial costs to society. The current £3,000 per year Fair Access Limit on ASGSF funding per child is not enough to cover a needs assessment and the appropriate, holistic therapy these children need.

While the current funding limit per child is therefore insufficient, Family Futures welcomes the government’s recognition that reform is needed and the announcement of the launch of an Adoption Support that Works for All consultation.

We agree there is an urgent need to listen to the voices of people with experience and expertise, to plan a more coherent, evidence-based system of adoption and kinship support. The proposed focus on early intervention, support at key transition points such as adolescence, and improved integration across social care, health and education reflects what our clinical evidence and the lived experience of families has long demonstrated.

Jay Vaughan MBE, CEO of Family Futures, said:

“Our evidence shows that when support is consistent, trauma informed and holistic, children who have experienced trauma or abuse are likely to recover, families are more stable, and long-term costs to society are reduced. For children and young people, the impact of trauma is long term and needs a long term solution, with funding available for support when it is needed. This consultation is a vital opportunity to move away from families feeling in crisis towards a system that genuinely puts children’s developmental needs first.”

Family Futures will engage fully with the consultation and urges policymakers to ensure that the voices of young people, families and trauma informed specialists are central to shaping future reforms. Any new model must ensure that support is accessible, based on each child’s needs determined through a multidisciplinary assessment, and is evidence based. It is vital we listen to and learn from what adoptees are telling us. As a young person said in the recent Adoptee Voices report published by the APPG on Adoption and Permanence:

“There is no space or support for us…I don’t think we belong anywhere.” – Young Adoptee, Adoptee Voices Report

We are committed to advocating for a national, evidence and experience based framework that gives every adopted and kinship child the right support at the right time, enabling them to heal, thrive and go on to achieve a positive future.

10 February 2026

The Adoption Support that Works for All consultation will run for 12 weeks and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/adoption-support-that-works-for-all