CVAA response to government consultation on the future of adoption and kinship support

The government consultation is available to read and respond to here. The press release issued by the Department for Education is available to read here.

CVAA CEO Satwinder Sandhu commented:

CVAA welcomes the launch of the government consultation on the future of adoption and kinship support today. This is a deeply complex and critical subject which affects the lives of many people. We must get this right for children and families given that so many have encountered issues accessing the right support, or sometimes any support, for too long. Meaningful consultation with children, families and the whole sector is pivotal, so we are pleased to see the government respond to our calls for this, alongside announcing increased funding for pilots and the new trial of proactive support when children transition from primary to secondary school.

In England 22% of all children find adoptive homes through a Voluntary Adoption Agency (VAA), and lifelong support remains a key reason why prospective adopters choose a VAA. The consultation outlines a range of proposals that focus primarily on early support, delivered through statutory services, rather than on the role of cross-sector specialist therapeutic support for children with more complex needs. Early support is essential, but just one piece of the larger puzzle. The disproportionate focus on universal and early services gives us cause for concern given what is known from research about early trauma and its links with overlapping developmental, social, emotional, attachment and mental health difficulties, making the needs of this group of children starkly different from their peers.

Our experience is that most adopted children, if not all, will require additional support at some point. As universal support is already established and effective across many regional and voluntary adoption agencies, it should not be the focal point of these reform efforts. What is currently missing is timely, effective and accessible high-level support when families need it most, as demonstrated by the growing evidence base from the adoption community itself. This should be alongside early support, so this is where we would place greater emphasis within the consultation and we believe this is where some of the reforms to the ASGSF are most needed. Whilst we welcome the drive for a joined-up delivery model between statutory and health partners, the support provided must be adoption informed and robustly funded, so it is available for as long as children and young people need it.

CVAA is looking forward to responding fully to the consultation, in close collaboration with our members and their adoptive children and families. We will be advocating for a rounded approach to adoption support, rooted in early consultation and triage which routes families to the best support for them in the first instance, whether lower level or higher level (via assessment). A better system will be defined by how quickly and reliably families can access the most appropriate, and effective, support for them.