A:  From the 1st April 2016 the scope of the Fund was widened to be available for adopted children and young people up to and including 21 years of age. The Department for Education has allocated £8 million to enable adoptive families to access vital support through the covid-19 lockdown period. Both birth parents normally have to agree (consent) to the adoption, unless: You may be able to adopt a child if you’re aged 21 or over (there’s no upper age limit) and either: There are different rules for private adoptions and adoptions of looked-after children. A: The ASF will fund certain types of therapeutic support for eligible children or the whole family, not therapy specifically for parents. Archived newsletters can be found below. A further £5k for therapy per child will be available from 1 April 2017. I've been told that making a complaint about the lack of response from our local authority will result in the application being put on hold while the complaint is investigated. Is this year's fair access limit per child or per family? The aim of this complaints process is to resolve any issues as quickly as possible. Q: My child is aged over 18 and no longer lives at home. Support services funded by the ASF can begin as soon as the application is approved. Volumes of applications: 10,801 approved applications. Q: Can Voluntary Adoption Agencies carry out adoption support needs assessments for the Adoption Support Fund? A: The ASF does not decide what support adoptive families should receive; this should be based on a thorough assessment of your family's adoption support needs conducted by the local authority, preferably in partnership with a clinical health professional. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Q: I am intending to submit two separate applications to the ASF (via my LA) for my two children who have different needs. Is she eligible for support from the fund? Does he have to approach the local authority himself to request an assessment of need or is that something we should do? It is not a general assessment of adoption support needs – these remain the responsibility of local authorities and are not funded by the ASF. Pet Type. An application may be returned to the local authority to seek further information or clarification. After three years it becomes the responsibility of the local authority where you live (if different). After three years it becomes the responsibility of the Local Authority where you live (if different). After three years it becomes the responsibility of the local authority where you live (if different). Q: We have identified a service provider we would like to use but they are based in Wales. Will two separate assessments be carried out or will there be one assessment taking into account the needs of both my children? I am worried my children will get an interruption to therapy. So your three children each have a fair access limit of £5,000 this year. Local authorities and adoption agencies should already be providing a certain amount to their adoptive families: Adoption UK, Units 11 and 12, Vantage Business Park, Bloxham Road, Banbury, OX16 9UX. Download the PDF by clicking the image below: This guide to the Adoption Support Fund includes information for parents about how to access the resource as well as examples of how it has worked well. Will the fund pay for this? Information, advice, guidance and signposting, Opportunities for adoptive families to meet, socialise and support one another (eg. Foster a child. This establishes the ownership of the private and public key, ensuring the message is only read by the approved parties. The exception being when a child has left care under a Child Arrangement Order (CAO) to enable the assessment of a potential special guardian. Q: Are there any plans to extend the range of therapies/type of support offered via the Fund? A: Yes, if they are OFSTED registered adoption support services or services procured through an English local authority, services may be delivered in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland although we would encourage providers to travel to the family. Q: I adopted my child before the ASF existed. Lived in the United Kingdom for a period of at least one (1) year before beginning the adoption application process. It provides background to the ASF, who is eligible, the level of funding available, and the fund’s vision for the future. She had an SEN statement when she was able to attend college. Criteria for match-funding are: Q: Our completed application has been with our local authority for some time but nothing is happening. A: To access the Adoption Support Fund, you will need to have an assessment of your family's adoption support needs by the local authority. A 'fair access limit' of £5,000 per child was introduced as well as a match-funding approach whereby local authorities share the cost of support over the fair access limit. There is more than one way to adopt a child in the United Kingdom. Q: My application has had to be resubmitted to the ASF. For more information and to download and read the full report click here. Will this be accepted as evidence to prove her eligibility for the fund? It provides money for therapy for children and families to help improve relationships, confidence and behaviour. A: Children, living in England and being cared for under a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) who were in care immediately prior to the SGO taking effect are in scope of the fund. Local authority applies directly to the Adoption Support Fund on behalf of the adopter. Eligible children with a current Statement of Need/Education, Health and Care plan may be supported by the fund up to and including 25 years of age. Local authority considers if therapeutic support is needed, the type required and if it is eligible for payments from the fund. A: The Adoption Support Fund (ASF) covers necessary expenses for travel for the delivery of post-adoption and Special Guardian Order (SGO) therapeutic support. Applications to the fund can be submitted by the LA prior to the SGO being in place but funds will not be released until the order takes effect. What is the reason for this? The fund covers eligible costs relating to therapeutic support services for all adopted children living in England and young people up to age 21 where they have left care through adoption or special guardianship arrangements. Regional adoption agencies and local authorities have discretion to spend their share of the money on the support that adoptive families in their areas need most at this time. Is there any kind of directory available of the sorts of interventions that the fund can pay for and where they can be found? Approach your local authority for an assessment of adoption support needs. Q: How does my local authority receive the funds for the ASF? Pet Breed. Over the period CoramBAAF has produced guidance on a range of family placement issues divided into the key areas of practice - adoption, fostering, family placement, health and legal. Search for Pets for Adoption. Adoption UK is in regular contact with the Department for Education and will update this page when necessary so you are aware of the latest developments. A: The Adoption Suport Fund (ASF) provides a range of therapeutic parenting programmes to equip parents with skills and techniques to therapeutically parent their child, to address their child(ren)'s assessed needs; it does not cover therapy for the parents. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. Is this acceptable? SC037892 (Scotland). If you disagree with the local authority's assessment of your adoption support needs, you can use the already established local authority complaints procedures or speak to your local councillor. Adoption Support Fund team Under this temporary scheme, regional adoption agencies and local authorities can access this funding via the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) until the end of June. Q:  I have two children, a ten month old and a five year old. Q: If our assessment of need identifies that we need financial help, will the fund provide this? Q: Does an assessment of needs for the Adoption Support Fund have to be undertaken by a social worker or can it be done by an assistant/family support worker? A general social work assessment of adoption/SGO support needs remains the responsibility of the local authority/regional adoption agency. A: The fair access limit of £5,000 is applied to each eligible child for this financial year. 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