https://www.adoptionuk.org/Review of the Covid-19 Emergency ASF Scheme: insights for future adoption support
Summary
In April 2020, the Department for Education introduced an emergency support scheme for adoptive families in England in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent national lockdown. The scheme has been delivered via the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) and provided access to a range of support services which families could access despite lockdown. This included rapid access to peer-support services which are not usually available via the ASF. Adoption UK surveyed adoptive parents over the summer to understand how this scheme was working for families. Overall, the scheme has been a huge success, delivering much-needed support in a timely fashion. It has been a lifeline for families in extremely challenging circumstances and the Department for Education should be commended for the flexibility and decisiveness it has displayed in delivering this scheme. Key findings include:
• Of those who tried to access support, at least three-quarters were successful
• Nine-in-10 adopters said the support they received was helpful in meeting their family’s needs
• 95% of respondents said they would like to see support services delivered via the emergency scheme permanently retained under the ASF
• 12% reported a delay or complication accessing support
The emergency scheme has demonstrated the value of access to rapidly delivered peer-support for adoptive families when they are facing difficulties. It can prevent problems escalating, averting family crises and the need for intense therapeutic interventions further down the line. It shows that peer-support can be an effective form of early intervention and the scope of the ASF should include access to such services beyond the end of the emergency scheme.
Background
Three-quarters of adopted children have experienced abuse and neglect before entering the care system (Department for Education, 2019b). The legacy of childhood trauma means that many of these children will have additional needs and require therapeutic support at some point in their lives. When the right support is not forthcoming and children’s needs are not met, this can manifest as highly challenging behaviour. Adoption UK’s Adoption Barometer (2020) report is based on a survey of around 5,000 adoptive parents, the largest ever of its kind. Three-quarters of respondents told us their family had experienced challenges in 2019 and nearly two-thirds of parents had experienced violence and aggression from their child. Adoptive families’ need for additional support was acknowledged with the introduction of the ASF in England in May 2015. The ASF is a central government fund which pays for therapeutic support for those adoptive and special guardian families who have children under the age 21. According to the Adoption Barometer, 81% of parents in England said support accessed via the ASF had a significant positive impact on their family. This is the latest in a number of investigations, including government-commissioned reviews and parliamentary inquiries, to highlight the transformative effect of the ASF for those families living with the legacy of early childhood trauma.
Adoptive families in lockdown
The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns have placed an enormous strain on the mental health of children and families across the country. But the impact has been particularly pronounced for adoptive families. Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, 46% of adopted children had known social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, and a further 22% were suspected to have SEMH needs (Adoption UK, 2020a). Adoption UK began hearing from its members about the challenges they were facing during the early days of the spring lockdown via our community support network, helpline and digital platforms (online forums and social media channels). So, the organisation conducted a survey of adoptive parents in mid-April to find out more about families’ experiences at the peak of the first lockdown (Adoption UK, 2020b). Many parents raised concerns about the impact of the loss of routine as result of school closures, with 98% of the children represented in the survey at home part-time or full-time during this period. The impact of closures could be particularly difficult for those who do not cope well with sudden, unmanaged changes and transitions, as is common among adopted children. More than half of those who responded to our survey said their child was suffering from increased emotional distress and anxiety during the lockdown, with 42% telling us their child’s sleep pattern has been disrupted. In some cases, fear relating to the spread of the virus and the health and safety of parents and family members triggered feelings of loss and instability in adopted children and adolescents. These issues, combined with the fundamentally restrictive nature of the lockdown, led to an escalation in the frequency and intensity of Child-on-Parent Violence (CPV) and challenging behaviour within adoptive families. More than half of those responding to our survey reported an increase in challenging behaviour from their child(ren) and nearly a third are experiencing more violence and aggression than usual. It is important to also recognise the benefits the spring lockdown had for some adoptive families though. Some parents said their children were calmer without the additional stress that school life brings, and others felt having more time at home together was good for the development of their attachment relationship. However, the benefits enjoyed by some families should not divert attention away from the struggles of others. The pandemic had the dual impact of exacerbating these families’ needs whilst simultaneously depriving them of the support they would usually benefit from. For example, 22% of children represented in the survey were unable to access ongoing therapeutic support because of restrictions, while support usually accessed via other avenues such as schools and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) was either partially or wholly cut off. There are serious concerns that the additional pressure families have been under could lead to many more joining the hundreds each year who experience a family breakdown or disruption, with children leaving the family home prematurely and returning to the care system. And even where this outcome can be avoided, families will have longer-term support needs as they seek to rebuild and restore strained relationships and address the negative impact on their mental health.
Government response
The Department for Education responded to this situation by introducing an emergency support scheme in April, delivered via the ASF. £8 million was allocated for this scheme from the existing £45 million ASF budget for 2020/21. Local authorities and regional adoption agencies could access the funding to commission services such as virtual peer support, access to helplines, online counselling and funded memberships for support organisations for their adopters. Supported services commissioned via the scheme must be delivered before the end of 2020. More than 450 applications were submitted to the emergency scheme and £6.5 million was approved to support up to 61,000 families. The Department for Education should be commended for the decisiveness and flexibility it displayed in approving and delivering this scheme, in conjunction with local authorities and regional adoption agencies, when families were most in need. Keen to know more about how the scheme was working for families, Adoption UK gathered the views of adoptive parents and the findings are included in this report. These findings were submitted to the Department for Education ahead of the recent government spending review. It is hoped decision-makers will pay due attention in planning future adoption support provision.
About the survey
Adoption UK conducted a survey from 22/07/2020 to 10/08/2020, which was publicised via its Adopter Voice network, direct mailings to Adoption UK members and its social media channels. The survey received a total of 534 valid responses. 525 of these were from adoptive parents, with a further nine from special guardians, who are also eligible for support via the scheme if their child(ren) has/have previously looked after status. The questions covered a range of issues including the accessibility and timeliness of the scheme; its impact on family life; and adopters’ awareness and understanding of it. The survey was closed in early August, so only tells us about adopters’ experiences and views of the emergency scheme up to that point. The scheme runs until the end of 2020, so a follow up review would be beneficial for future policy and practice development.
Key findings and analysis
Accessibility and timeliness
For those who accessed the scheme, it has been a success in terms of delivering timely support for families. From the launch of the scheme to the closure of the survey represents a four-month period (10/04/2020 - 10/08/2020). In this period, three-quarters of those who had tried to access support were successful in securing it at the time of responding to the survey, with a further 10% waiting to hear back from their agency. Furthermore, only 12% reported a delay or complication accessing support. Given the novelty of the scheme and circumstances in which government, adoption agencies and those commissioned to deliver support were operating, this is a relatively low number.
“I was surprised and pleased at the quick support offered.”
“Vital support offered speedily during a difficult time. Much appreciated!”
“Excellent support offered the same day.”
“It was quick and straightforward to access.”
But we should remember that when support cannot be access in a timely fashion, family life can deteriorate at a rapid rate. This is evidenced by comments left by respondents. This should serve as a reminder that where adoptive families are concerned, there should be a presumption that they will have additional support needs, with an emphasis on early intervention rather than waiting until families reach crisis point.
“I'm too traumatised by the last few months to be able to think about this properly.”
It is worth comparing these figures with the speed at which support was received when the ASF was operating business-as-usual prior to the pandemic. In 2019, nearly half of all families did not receive support within six months of contacting their agency and 20% were still waiting after 12 months. Only 46% of adopters felt that the whole application process had been handled in a timely fashion (Adoption UK, 2020a). These comparative figures highlight the impressive efficiency with which the emergency scheme was delivered. Despite consistent praise for the overall impact of the ASF since 2015, various assessments of the service have raised concerns about the time it takes for families to access support. The efficient delivery of the emergency scheme during the peak of lockdown should serve as an important learning opportunity for the Department for Education, ASF administrators and regional adoption agencies, when it comes to getting support to families efficiently when they are most in need.
“It has been great. I wish it was ordinarily as easy to access though!”
Impact on family life
The transformative impact of the ASF has been well documented by various studies. For example, a 2019 inquiry from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Adoption and Permanence found that four-in-five adopters said the support they had received via the ASF had a significant positive impact on their child(ren) and family situation. While the Adoption Barometer found that 57% of those who accessed support felt that it had helped to avoid a situation where a child left the home prematurely. But with face-to-face therapeutic interventions prohibited during lockdown, the emergency scheme had to find alternative means of supporting families that would have a real and immediate impact on family life. The most common form of support accessed by respondents was membership of a support organisation such as Adoption UK, followed by online counselling and then virtual peer support. Unsurprisingly, these were also the most common forms of support offered to respondents by agencies, along with couples therapy. Additional comments from respondents suggest many also accessed non-violent resistance (NVR) training courses too. A staggering nine-in-10 adopters said the support they received was helpful in meeting their family’s needs. This demonstrates the success of the scheme and appropriateness of the support offered. It also raises questions regarding the scope of the ASF and what forms of support it should fund in the future. Specifically, should the ASF be used to fund broader forms of support and should this include peer-support services?
“This was a lifeline after CAMHS discharged their whole waiting list. We had been waiting to see a psychotherapist for 8 months when we were discharged it was scary and devastating. This intervention by ASF probably saved my child from serious self-harm.”
“The Adoption Support Fund is crucial in getting the right treatment and assessment for my son. There is a massive difference between the ease of access to therapy and assessment funded by the ASF versus anything funded by the local authority which can be extremely difficult to access. The ASF is so important. It has kept my family together.”
“It was a godsend. Thank you.”
Adoption UK asked respondents whether the support they had accessed via the scheme was on offer via their agency prior to the pandemic. Nearly half said ‘no’, and another third answered, ‘don’t know’, which suggests few were offering this support. Significantly, 95% of respondents said they would like to see these other forms of support available via the ASF beyond the lifespan of the emergency scheme.
“Automatically funding Adoption UK membership during Covid restrictions meant we felt supported and gives routes into longer term help options.”
“I like the way it is quickly accessible and offers more flexibility. I think it’s fantastic that couple therapy is now allowed under ASF as parenting traumatised children puts much pressure on parents and carers.”
“I have found my temporary free membership to Adoption UK very useful as I have been able to attend webinars and access information to help my family.”
“We were delighted to be offered pretty much what we had hoped for, relevant and much needed support to help with a teen whose ongoing issues were already extremely challenging and complex even before Covid-19.“
Awareness and understanding
Unfortunately, nearly two-thirds of those responding to the survey said they were not aware of the emergency scheme. The survey was opened in late July, more than three months after the scheme was launched. By this stage, it should have been widely communicated to the adoption and special guardian communities, especially as more than half of those who did respond to the survey had sought support from their adoption agency since April.
“We were not aware of the scheme until we received an email from Adoption UK.”
“How do you get the support?”
At a time of acute crisis for vulnerable families, it is essential that those who are potentially in need are aware of the services available to them. An effective communications plan should be an essential part of delivering a support scheme of this kind. Central government, regional adoption agencies and the wider adoption and kinship care sectors should have pursued a more collaborative approach to ensure adoptive parents and special guardians were aware of the scheme and how to access it.
“I have an adopted son with severe ADHD and a disabled daughter. I have really struggled through this difficult time and had no Idea I could have had support via this fund.”
It should be taken into consideration, however, that central government and adoption agencies were operating in an extremely challenging environment themselves as a result of the pandemic. And despite this they were still able to deliver meaningful support to an estimated 61,000 families. Furthermore, the survey closed in early August, but the scheme was open for applications until the end of September, with a delivery deadline of December. Therefore, the expectation is that awareness and understanding of the scheme continued to grow after the survey was closed.
Discussion
Once again, we have seen the significant impact the ASF can have for families in need, this time acting as a lifeline in the most challenging of circumstances. The Department for Education should be commended for their efforts in delivering this innovative support scheme in the face of external challenges and providing vital support for vulnerable families when they needed it most.
“We are extremely grateful for the additional support during the pandemic.”
“It was very useful as it provided access to support that I did not think would have been available.”
“We were very pleased to have accessed it and to feel that there was more support available at a very difficult time.”
“Great idea for those who have a real need.”
“It has been helpful to know there has been additional funding in place to support families during this unprecedented time.”
Adoption UK is aware of cases in which some agencies may be unable to deliver all the support services they have commissioned under the scheme within the agreed timeframe before the end of 2020. Given that funding has been made available, it is frustrating that in some instances support may not reach families in time. England moved back into lockdown in November in response to rising levels of infection and it is likely restrictions of some form will remain in place over the coming months. This is likely to intensify challenges facing adoptive families, as was the case during the spring lockdown. Therefore, the Department for Education should consider extending the delivery timescale of the emergency scheme to enable more families to access support (which has already been commissioned but not yet delivered) through this difficult winter period. An ongoing issue with the ASF has been the lack of certainty over its long-term future, which has been the subject of numerous incremental extensions but still lacks a long-term settlement. Through its evaluations of the ASF, the Department for Education has recognised that the market for therapeutic adoption support services is still relatively small and immature (Department for Education, 2017 and 2019b). This is unlikely to change without a long-term settlement. The Chancellor’s decision to conduct a one-year spending review this autumn due to the ongoing uncertainties caused by Covid-19 has further delayed the possibility of a long-term settlement. However, the Department for Education still has the opportunity to extend the ASF for further year and push to cliff-edge back to March 2022, now that departmental budgets for 2020/21 have been announced.
“ASF is vital. I am worried about its future.”
“The ASF in general is absolutely critical to support adoptive families.”
Furthermore, as previously mentioned, the £6.5 million spent via the emergency scheme has been re-allocated from the existing £45 million ASF budget for 2020/21. The impact of the pandemic on families’ mental health and stability will undoubtedly lead to an increased demand for therapeutic interventions in the coming months. Therefore, it is essential the funding allocated for the scheme is replaced to ensure adequate resources are available for those families requiring specialist, therapeutic interventions.
“Think ASF scheme is needed and will continue to be needed for a long while as Covid-19 has exacerbated difficulties for some families.”
In July 2020, Education Minister Baroness Berridge confirmed that “future funding, scope and fair access limits for the Adoption Support Fund” would be considered as part of the spending review. Despite the decision to conduct a one-year spending review, there is no reason these aspects of the fund cannot still be considered as part of the process. In particular, it will provide a chance to reconsider the scope of the ASF, with a view to expanding its remit to include the forms of support delivered during the pandemic. For example, the emergency scheme has demonstrated the value of peer-support, which has proved to be an effective means of getting families the help they need in a timely and effective manner. Accessing peer-support can be key to preventing a family’s difficulties escalating to the point of crisis. It is a highly cost-effective form of early intervention and can prevent the need for intensive therapeutic input further down the line. Some families will of course require more specialist support and the ASF has been highly effective in delivering this. But as mentioned above, it has not performed as well in helping families who require immediate interventions of some kind. The experience of families during the pandemic suggests expanding the ASF to include peer-support services is a way of addressing this. The overwhelming support from adopters for this expanded provision to be retained should be a key consideration for policymakers. Numerous respondents also called for some form of respite care to be accessible via the ASF. The pandemic has created obvious barriers to delivering this kind of support. However, it should be given due to consideration in more long-term planning, assuming the ASF is retained beyond July 2021.
“We need respite care. The violence we’re experiencing daily without school to provide a break is just horrific.”
“What I needed most was respite from my children's aggressive behaviour, when all of my family and support network couldn't help me.”
“We really need investment in schemes to provide respite for parents, particularly during school holidays.”
Furthermore, it would also be wise to use this opportunity to review the fair access limits applied to the ASF. The Adoption Barometer found that only 7% of those who made an application to the ASF in 2019 required funding beyond the fair access limit. But of these, 57% reported that their local authority had not provided the match funding required, while 21% were still awaiting a decision at the time of completing the survey. While the proportion of families whose ASF applications go beyond the fair access limit is very small, it is likely that these are families that are experiencing the greatest level of need. The majority are facing barriers to obtaining match funding from local authorities, resulting in those with severe and complex needs facing delays and even losing out on vital support altogether. Addressing this blind spot in the service should be a priority for policymakers.
Conclusion
In what has been a challenging year, the emergency ASF support scheme is a shining example of how government can support vulnerable groups in a time of acute crisis. Adopters’ responses to our survey and the testimony they have provided illustrate what a vital lifeline the scheme has been through the pandemic. The scheme has also served as a timely reminder of the importance of peer-support services for adoptive families. The impact it has in averting crises and keeping families together in the face of extreme challenges is hugely impressive. As far as long-term planning for the ASF is concerned, the message from adopters is clear. Expand the scope of the fund so it can meet the diverse needs of families. Invest in the ASF so it can keep up with the demand for therapeutic services. Extend the lifetime of the fund to give adoptive families, and those considering adoption, the confidence they will be able to access support when they need it.
Recommendations
• Expand the scope of the ASF to include peer-support services and consider including other provisions delivered via the Covid-19 emergency scheme
• Extend the delivery timescale of the Covid-19 emergency scheme until March 2021
• Replace the ASF funding for 2020/21 which was re-allocated to the emergency scheme to ensure the immediate demand for specialist, therapeutic support is met
• Extend the ASF for a further year until March 2022
• Review the efficacy of the current fair access limits and cost implications of removing or altering the limits
• Build on cross-party support to develop a clear pathway for securing a long-term settlement for the ASF at the next multi-year spending review
References
Adoption UK (2020), Adoption Barometer.
Adoption UK (2020), Home learning during the Covid-19 lockdown: The impact of school closures on care experienced children.
All-Party Parliamentary Group for Adoption and Permanence (2019), Investing in Families: The Adoption Support Fund beyond 2020.
Department for Education and the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (2017), The Evaluation of the Adoption Support Fund.
Department for Education and the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (2019), The Evaluation of the Adoption Support Fund: long-term follow up.
Department for Education, Children looked after in England including adoption: 2018 to 2019, December 2019.
