Adoption fund delay creates uncertainty for East Yorkshire mums

Two single mums say they face an uncertain time after vital therapy sessions for them and their adopted children came to an abrupt end.

Nicky, from Hull, and Heidi, from East Yorkshire, had been receiving support they described as a “lifeline” through the adoption and special guardianship support fund, but that stopped after a delay in confirming it would continue left many in limbo.

There will also be a 40% reduction in the amount families can apply for, which the government said would allow more vulnerable children to access support.

Nicky, whose adopted six-year-old daughter has complex needs, said the sessions were essential to her “as a single adopter with not a great support network”.

She added: “It’s that weekly session for myself, where I’m not judged, I’m supported.”

The amount available to each eligible child through the fund has dropped from £5,000 a year to £3,000 a year for therapy, while a specialist assessment service has been scrapped.

Almost 20,000 children received support through the scheme last year, up from about 13,000 in 2019-20.

Children and Families Minister Janet Daby said she regretted the delay but said £50m had been allocated for the fund this year.

Through the funding, Nicky’s daughter had been receiving developmental psychotherapy and relationship therapy to help with attachment trauma.

“Without it, we’re screwed,” Nicky said. “It’s so vital for her development.

“[The government] are playing with people’s lives. We’ve got enough going on, we’ve got enough battles, without having this uncertainty of when we will receive the funding and therapy again.”

Nicky and Heidi became friends when they met during adoption training.

Heidi, 35, adopted her children from birth and received funding last year that provided her with parent training.

“Living on your own, it’s a really, really lonely journey,” said the former nurse.

“Due to the complex needs of my children, I’m very isolated.

“The therapist was the one person I could talk to who I knew would understand what was happening, and that’s now abruptly stopped.

“We’ve got no respite, and now we’ve not even got the one bit of therapy that was keeping us alive.

“[The cuts] have essentially meant that whatever therapy you’re getting, there’s going to be less of it.”

Alison Woodhead, from Adoption UK, said the charity was getting an increasing number of calls to its helpline.

“Families are feeling a mixture of anger, distress and fear about the future,” she said.

“Adopted children often have a very difficult start in life and the thing they need above all is consistency and certainty.

“And because this fund is set up in a way that it has to be renegotiated every year, every year we have this cliff-edge problem, where families are left waiting to know if their child’s therapy can continue.

“This year, it’s been a total car crash.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Children in care are some of the most vulnerable in our society, and our Plan for Change will ensure they get the support they need to thrive.

“The decisions we have taken will ensure the fund is financially sustainable to allow more vulnerable children to access targeted support and thrive in adoptive and kinship families.”