ASGSF News

Dear all in the adoption community,

After the good news of last week, where we heard that the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) would be continuing for at least another year, we were deeply shocked and saddened to hear that there are significant cuts coming in with immediate effect. We understand that the government is under serious financial pressure; however, this fund is for the most vulnerable children in society, and it is an essential layer of support. CCS has supported hundreds of families since 2017 to access the specialist clinical assessments, therapeutic packages and our bespoke Therapeutic Parenting course, Hearts & Minds, and we have heard again and again about the significant changes and improvements that this has had on families’ lives. CCS will be urgently looking at the changes to the fund and will be communicating out directly with families affected in the coming weeks.

In summary, the changes are as follows:

— Reducing the overall Fair Access Limit (FAL) to £3,000 (previously £5,000)

— No longer having a separate FAL for specialist assessments. Specialist assessments up to the level of £2,500 will be considered for funding, but only within the overall FAL of £3,000.

— No longer accepting match funding applications for therapy which costs more than the £3,000 FAL, or for specialist assessments which cost more than £2,500.

— Ending transitional funding arrangements across years.

— CCS is part of the CVAA (Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies), and as a VAA, we promise and will deliver lifelong support. The CVAA’s response to this news can be found here.

CCS will continue to support all of its adoptive families through the coming weeks. Please be reassured that we are working with the CCS staff team and therapist to find the best way forward and to make a plan of how we can continue to support you into the future.

Thank you,

Emma Simpson
CEO, CCS Adoption