The Education Secretary has today (Friday 10 April)
announced that up to £8 million will be available to
pay for different types of therapeutic support for
families whose adopted children may have already
suffered trauma and be made more anxious owing to the
uncertainty of the effects of the virus.
It comes as the Department for Education confirms it
has spent more than £150 million on the Adoption
Support Fund since it was launched in 2015, helping
more than 45,000 adoptive and special guardianship
order families across the country.
The £8 million fund can be used by local authorities
and regional adoption agencies to pay for activities
such as virtual peer to peer support, access to
helplines, couples therapy and online counselling,
given the social distancing measures that have been
brought in by the Government to protect the NHS and
save lives.
Education Secretary said:
We are taking urgent action to protect the country
from the spread of coronavirus, meaning many of us
have seen changes in our daily lives as we practice
social distancing and stay at home. For adoptive
families, often still adjusting to their new
environments, this may create additional strain.
That is why today I am freeing up £8 million from our
Adoption Support Fund to pay for therapies that will
help families to cope in this uncertain time.
The therapies available through the COVID-19 Adoption
Support Fund will be delivered alongside those already
offered by the Fund, such as music activities, play
therapy and family support sessions. The Fund will be
flexible so that local authorities and regional
adoption agencies have discretion to spend their share
of the money on the support that adoptive families in
their areas need most at this time. The funding aims to
help fill gaps in provision caused by the impact of
COVID-19, including where local authority staff are
unable to attend work due to sickness or
self-isolation.
It adds to advice and guidance published
by the Department for Education for professionals
working in children’s social care to help them meet the
needs of their families safety and effectively during
the COVID-19 outbreak. The guidance outlines that
adoption can still take place, with Regional Adoption
Agencies utilising communication technology to continue
with the process.
Feedback from the sector shows that adoptive families
have been experiencing greater stress due to children
with attachment and trauma needs being isolated at home
and having their routine disrupted, which can lead to
an increase in adoption breakdown and child to parent
violence.
Andrew Christie, Chair of the Adoption and Special
Guardianship Leadership Board, said:
I wholeheartedly welcome this news. Many adopters and
special guardians are struggling during the current
crisis and this funding will help provide much needed
support for them and their families during these
difficult times.
The £8 million, which comes from the £45 million
2020-21 budget that was announced by the Education
Secretary in December, will fund the temporary COVID-19
scheme.
The funding comes after the Government announced that
it would make £1.6 billion available for local
authorities to manage the impact of COVID-19, including
on children’s services.
