CASA members’ meetings provide an opportunity to share updates, discuss developments in adoption support and connect with fellow providers. These meetings are open to CASA members only..
This meeting will be online
Emaiil info@casa-uk.org to register interest
A new report published by the Department for Education on 24 September 2026 explores the experiences and support needs of adoptive parents and special guardians in England.
Drawing on interviews with 84 families and survey data from adoptive parents, the Family Routes report describes both close, positive family relationships and the pressures families can experience, particularly during adolescence. Difficulties accessing services often added to those pressures, affecting parents’ and carers’ wellbeing, relationships and working lives.
Families valued trauma-informed parenting approaches, but these did not replace the need for timely specialist support. The report recommends clearer information and advocacy, better support in schools, access to counselling for parents and carers, and suitable respite provision.
For adoption support providers, the findings offer a useful opportunity to reflect on how services listen to families, respond to changing needs and support the wellbeing of parents and carers alongside their children.
Read the full report on GOV.UK.
CASA has submitted a collective response to the Department for Education’s adoption support consultation, drawing on research and the experience of member organisations supporting adopted children, children living in special guardianship arrangements and their families.
Our response calls for a system that recognises children’s strengths and potential while ensuring their support needs are understood and met. Children should never be defined by early adversity, but families must be able to access skilled, appropriately resourced help when they need it.
Protecting access to specialist support
CASA recognises the value of parenting support, peer networks and community provision. However, these must sit alongside access to specialist therapeutic support where needed.
We raise concerns that the proposals, as currently framed, could reduce access to specialist expertise, constrain individualised support and increase differences in provision between areas. Our response also highlights the importance of sustaining the experienced practitioners and services already working within the sector.
Support shaped around each family
Our recommendations emphasise:
Through this response, CASA brings the collective perspective of specialist providers into national discussions about the future of adoption support. Our priority is a sustainable system that helps children and families access the right support as their needs change.
Read our full response
For more detail on CASA’s position and recommendations, read our full consultation response.
