Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF): Therapeutic Support for SGO Families

Many children who come into kinship care carry trauma from parental addiction, domestic abuse, neglect or bereavement. The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund — usually called the ASGSF or just "the fund" — exists to pay for therapeutic support for eligible children living in England. For a child under a special guardianship order, eligibility requires that the child was in care before the order was made.

What the ASGSF Covers

The fund pays for therapeutic interventions that address the emotional, behavioural and developmental needs of eligible children and young people living in England, up to age 21 (or age 25 if they have an education, health and care plan). For a child under a special guardianship order, the child must have been in care before the order was made. It does not cover general childcare costs, legal fees or educational tutoring.

Eligible therapies include:

• Play therapy and art therapy for younger children who cannot articulate their experiences verbally
• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for older children and teenagers
• Dyadic developmental psychotherapy (DDP) for attachment-related difficulties
• Therapeutic life story work to help the child understand their family history
• Sensory integration therapy for children with developmental trauma
• Family therapy where the whole household needs support to adjust
• Specialist parenting programmes such as Nurturing Attachments or Theraplay-informed courses

The fund typically covers the cost of an initial assessment by a qualified therapist and a block of therapeutic sessions. Funding is time-limited per application, but families can apply more than once if the child's needs change or new issues emerge.

Who Can Apply

The ASGSF is available to children and young people in England who meet one of its eligibility categories, including:

• A special guardianship order made after the child was in care
• An adoption order, subject to the fund's adoption eligibility rules
• A child arrangements order where the child was previously looked after by a local authority

The application is not made by the special guardian directly. Instead, the local authority's post-adoption or special guardianship support team submits the funding request on the family's behalf. Contact your local authority's children's services to check eligibility and ask for a special guardianship support assessment under Section 14F of the Children Act 1989.

If the assessment identifies therapeutic needs, the social worker prepares a support plan and submits a funding application to the ASGSF. The fund is administered by the Department for Education.

Current Funding Limits

The ASGSF has operated with a per-child funding cap that has changed several times since the fund launched in 2015. For 2026/27, the fair-access limit is £3,000 per child per financial year. Specialist assessments up to £2,500 are funded within that overall limit; there is no separate assessment budget, match funding above the limit, or carry-over between financial years.

The fund has been extended multiple times. It was originally a three-year pilot, then renewed annually. The Department for Education has confirmed £55 million for 2026/27 and that support will continue into 2027/28.

How the Application Works in Practice

1. Request an assessment. Write to your local authority's children's services and ask for a special guardianship support assessment. Mention the ASGSF specifically — some councils do not proactively offer it.
2. The assessment. A social worker meets with you and the child to understand the child's history, current difficulties and therapeutic needs.
3. The support plan. If therapeutic intervention is recommended, the social worker writes a support plan specifying the type of therapy, the proposed provider and the estimated cost.
4. The funding application. The local authority submits the plan to the ASGSF. The application should be approved before therapy starts; retrospective applications are considered only in exceptional circumstances.
5. Therapy begins. Once approved, the local authority purchases the support from its approved supplier list.

Common Sticking Points

"My council says I'm not eligible." The fund covers children under SGOs if they were in care before the order was made and meet the other eligibility rules. If your council says no, ask how it applied those criteria to your child's circumstances, and contact the Kinship charity's advice line for support.

"The child's difficulties are behavioural, not therapeutic." The ASGSF can cover interventions for emotional and behavioural difficulties rooted in early adversity. A child who is angry, withdrawn or struggling at school may qualify if the child meets the fund's eligibility rules and the assessment identifies an eligible therapeutic need.

"We moved councils after the SGO was granted." The local authority that placed the child with you is responsible for assessing support needs for three years after the order. If you have moved, responsibility then passes to the authority where you live.

The ASGSF and the Kinship Zones Pilot

If you live in one of the seven Kinship Zones pilot areas (Bexley, Bolton, Newcastle, North East Lincolnshire, Medway, Thurrock or Wiltshire), you may have access to enhanced support services alongside the ASGSF. The pilot runs from April 2026 to September 2029 and includes a non-means-tested weekly allowance and dedicated kinship support workers who can help navigate ASGSF applications.

Outside the pilot areas, a special guardian or prospective special guardian of a child who was looked after immediately before the SGO can request an assessment, which the local authority must carry out. For other requests, the authority may assess; if it plans to refuse, it must give reasons and allow an opportunity to make representations. The ASGSF is not limited to pilot councils, but its child eligibility rules still apply.

Getting the Full Picture

Therapeutic support is one possible service under a special guardianship support plan. Our Special Guardianship Orders in England guide covers the entire process from the three months' notice to the assessment, the court hearing and negotiating your support plan — including how to make sure therapeutic funding is included before the order is finalised.

See more England guides →