Statement on ASGSF cuts, uncertainty, and their impact on children, families, and providers

At Gateway Psychology, based in Stoke-on-Trent and serving families across Staffordshire and Cheshire and beyond, we are dedicated to delivering specialist, trauma-informed therapeutic support to adoptive, special guardianship, and kinship families.
The children and young people we support often have lived through early adversity – neglect, abuse, loss, multiple moves, or the breakdown of key relationships. These experiences can leave deep emotional scars that, without the right help, have lifelong consequences. Consistent, expert intervention is not a luxury; it is essential for recovery, stability, and long-term wellbeing.

Why trauma-informed therapy is essential

Research consistently shows that children in adoptive or special guardianship families present with significantly higher levels of emotional, behavioural, and developmental needs than their peers:

  • Nearly 90% show emotional or behavioural difficulties at a clinical or borderline level (Department for Education, Beyond the Adoption Order).

  • In national adoption cohort studies, most children had clinically significant mental health difficulties in the first three years post-adoption, with pre-adoption adversity (abuse, neglect, multiple moves) predicting worse outcomes. However, warm, sensitive parenting and early therapeutic input improved trajectories.

  • Around 31% have an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) – about ten times the rate for the general child population (DfE outcomes data).

  • Rates of self-harm, neurodevelopmental conditions (ADHD/ASD/FASD), and social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs are all markedly elevated in adopted and special guardianship populations compared to national averages.

Without appropriate therapeutic support, these challenges can escalate – leading to school exclusion, family breakdown, mental health crises, and disengagement from education or employment in adulthood.

Evidence shows that early, consistent, trauma-informed intervention interrupts this cycle:

  • The Adoption Support Fund (ASF) Evaluation found that children receiving therapy showed statistically significant improvements in mental health and family functioning, sustained months after therapy ended. Parents also reported greater confidence and stability in family life.

  • NICE guidance recommends trauma-focused CBT for PTSD, video-feedback for pre-school children and carers, and structured parenting interventions – all approaches that are funded through the ASGSF.

  • Programmes widely used in adoption, such as Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), have growing evidence of effectiveness, with large NIHR-funded trials underway.

The Role of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund: a lifeline for many families

The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) has, for many years, been a lifeline for families. It allows children to access assessments and therapies that would otherwise be unavailable – particularly in areas where specialist services are limited.
Since its introduction, the ASGSF has supported tens of thousands of children and families. In 2023–24 alone, nearly 17,000 therapy applications were approved. For families in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and Cheshire, the Fund has often been the only route to timely, specialist help.

One young person we have supported explained:

“The Adoption Support Fund has been a crucial lifeline for me since I started therapy at the age of 14. Without this funding, accessing the mental health support I needed might not have been possible, as the costs for therapy can be quite high. The financial assistance allowed me to attend regular sessions, where I’ve been able to work through my feelings, build coping strategies, and gain a better understanding of my experiences with a professional. This support has not only improved my mental well-being but has also empowered me to face challenges more confidently. Looking back, I realize that without the Adoption Support Fund, I may have struggled significantly without the guidance and help that therapy has provided.”

Her words underline what the research already shows: that consistent, funded access to specialist therapy changes lives.

The current crisis

In April 2025, the Department for Education implemented significant changes to the ASGSF:

  • The Fair Access Limit was reduced from £5,000 to £3,000 per child per year – a 40% cut (60% in reality, with the removal of the separate allocation for specialist assessments).
  • The separate £2,500 allocation for specialist assessments was removed.
  • Match-funding for high-need cases was eliminated.
  • Funding is only guaranteed until March 2026, creating annual uncertainty.

The impact is already clear:

The impact of reducing the Fair Access Limit is already being felt by providers and families across the country.

  • In 2024–25, 46% of therapy applications exceeded the new £3,000 limit. Without additional funding, those children would now go without the therapy they need.
  • Delays in confirming the Fund’s future and processing current applications have left families in limbo and disrupted ongoing therapy.
  • Providers across the country are reporting cancelled or postponed sessions, loss of therapeutic momentum, and destabilisation of placements.

The impact on Gateway Psychology and local communities

We are a small, specialist provider rooted in the community, operating on tight margins in areas of high deprivation. The ASGSF is central to how many of the families we work with access our services.

The current cuts and uncertainty have:

Backlogs and delays in application approvals mean therapy cannot always start or continue when it is most needed.

Our cash flow has been severely affected, and despite careful planning, we do not expect to return to normal operating levels until October at the earliest.

With reduced funding, we are often forced to help families choose between essential assessments and the therapy that flows from them – both of which are vital.

Therapeutic relationships built up over months or years can be lost when therapy is cut short.

Therapists and clinical psychologists are increasingly being asked to undertake work below the professional standard they would usually deliver, stretching sessions, shortening interventions, or dropping essential components simply to fit within reduced budgets. This undermines both clinical integrity and children’s recovery.

Most councils do not have the resources to top up the shortfall in ASGSF funding, meaning families simply go without.

Despite these pressures, we remain passionate about our work. Across our whole team – administrative and clinical – staff work tirelessly to create nurturing, safe, and welcoming spaces where children and young people can feel comfortable coming to therapy. It is this relational, consistent, high-quality approach that makes the difference.

The bigger picture

This is not only about service delivery – it is about the long-term future of children who have already experienced instability and harm.

When therapy stops precipitously:

  • Trauma symptoms resurface or intensify – making everyday life harder for children and their families.
  • Placements can become unstable – leading to further disruption, loss, and in some cases, a return to care. Research shows that in disrupted adoptions, 97% of children score in the clinical range for mental health difficulties.
  • Public services bear the cost – through increased demand on social care, education, health services and in some cases, the criminal justice system.

The Early Intervention Foundation estimates that failing to address childhood trauma early costs the public sector £17 billion a year in England and Wales. Cutting back on therapeutic support is a false economy.

We are also deeply concerned about the language used in some public commentary and documentation, which has labelled adopters and special guardians as “entitled” or “dependent.” Such language is not only unhelpful – it is inaccurate. Families are not seeking “extras” or “their due” – they are asking for the support their children urgently need, support which research and lived experience clearly show makes the difference between stability and breakdown.

Our call to action

We are calling on the Government to:

  • Reverse the 2025 ASGSF cuts – restore the £5,000 Fair Access Limit, reinstate funding for specialist assessments, and bring back match-funding for the most complex cases.
  • Commit publicly to the ASGSF beyond March 2026 – ending the cycle of annual uncertainty.
  • Fix the delays in application approvals – ensuring children and families are not left waiting for months for vital support.
  • Engage in meaningful, transparent consultation with families and providers before making further changes.
  • Recognise the importance of sustaining specialist providers – because without them, there will be no one left to deliver the support these children desperately need.

References:

Adoption UK (2024). The Adoption Barometer 2024: The Voice of Adoption. Adoption UK.

Anthony, R.E., Meakings, S., et al. (2019). Mental health in looked-after and adopted children: Prevalence, pathways, and predictors in a UK cohort. Cardiff University Wales Adoption Cohort Study.

Biehal, N., Ellison, S., Baker, C. & Sinclair, I. (2010). Belonging and Permanence: Outcomes in Long-Term Foster Care and Adoption. London: BAAF.

Department for Education (2014). Beyond the Adoption Order: Challenges, interventions and adoption disruption. London: DfE.

Department for Education (2023). Outcomes for children in need, including looked after children, year ending 31 March 2023. London: DfE.

Department for Education (2024). Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund statistics, 2023–24. London: DfE.

Early Intervention Foundation (2016). The cost of late intervention: EIF analysis 2016. London: EIF.

Humphrey, A., et al. (2019). Evaluation of the Adoption Support Fund: Annual Report. Oxford Brookes University, Institute of Public Care (IPC).

Meakings, S., Sebba, J. & Luke, N. (2017). What is known about the outcomes of adoption from care? An overview of UK research findings. Adoption & Fostering, 41(4), pp. 336–344.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2015). Children’s attachment: attachment in children and young people who are adopted from care, in care or at high risk of going into care (NG26). London: NICE.

Palacios, J., et al. (2019). Adoption in the service of child protection: An international and interdisciplinary perspective. Child Abuse & Neglect, 88, pp. 412–421.

Woolgar, M. & Baldock, E. (2015). Attachment disorders versus more common problems in looked after and adopted children: comparing community and expert assessments. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 20(1), pp. 34–40.