Some of the borough’s most vulnerable children will be left on a “cliff edge” as government funding for therapy ends, a not-for-profit agency has said.
The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) is scheduled to end at the end of March, and the Department for Education has not yet confirmed whether the funding will continue.
Jay Vaughan, CEO of Family Futures, an Islington-based not-for-profit adoption agency and therapy provider, said: “This is a car crash happening and this ultimately is going to end up costly.”
She added: “The brutal effect that will happen on the families is that some children will disrupt [in their placements], and they will go back into the care system and that will put more pressure on the fostering system, which is already struggling.”
What is the ASGSF?
The ASGSF, previously the adoption support fund, was introduced in May 2015 to fund therapy for adopted children and those with a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) – when a child is not looked after by a parent – or Child Arrangement Order – such as after divorces.
Currently, the fund is available for children in England aged 21 and under who are adopted, adopted from oversees, have a Child Arrangement Order or are under a SGO and have been in care.
Local authorities and adoption agencies are eligible to apply for the ASGSF to help children in need. The maximum amount of funding is £5,000 per annum per child for therapy and £2,500 for specialist assessments.
“This is a car crash happening and this ultimately is going to end up costly.”
Jay Vaughan, CEO of Family Futures
According to Adoption UK, 4,000 children are taken in by adoptive families each year. Last year, roughly 80 per cent of adopted children had experienced violence or abuse before entering care.
The charity has created an Open Letter calling for the funding to continue, which people can send to their local MP.
At the start of the month, Janet Daby, Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, said: “The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how we will allocate our budget for the next financial year.
“Decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discussions and an announcement will be made as soon as possible.”
According to Vaughan, early intervention is vital. “If we don’t support children properly in adoption, SGO families, in foster care, we are making costs further down the line,” she said, explaining that, without support, children from the care system could experience homelessness or end up in prison.
How will Islington be affected?
In Islington, there has been an increase in the number of children in the local authority’s care since 2023/24.
As of March 2024, 36 of the 298 children had undergone 3 or more placements and 106 had been looked after for more than two and a half years. 76 have been in long-term placements or placed for adoption.
If there isn’t a plan going forward, then places like Family Futures will cease to exist,
Jay Vaughan, CEO of Family Futures
Vaughan is concerned that without access to the fund, problems such as child-on-parent violence will worsen.
“I think we’ll see some school placements breaking down because with the stress of not having the therapy and support, inevitably children are going to be struggling more in school.”
The organisation currently provides treatment for around 100 families from around the UK and North London. “They’re distressed children and suddenly they’re going to fall off a cliff edge,” Vaughan said.
With the future of the fund in question, members of staff at Family Futures and the families it supports are distressed. “In the end, if there isn’t a plan going forward, then places like Family Futures will cease to exist,” Vaughan said.
“We are here, we are a multidisciplinary team, we can provide a really good service to Islington,” she added. “There are exciting things we can do.”
MA Newspaper Journalism at City, University of London. Bylines in MyLondon, Clash Magazine, DIY Magazine, and more. Freelance Arts and Culture Journalist.