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<p>The government understands that many people, including adopters and adopted adults,
are worried about the impact of rising prices. For this reason, the government is
providing £37 billion of support this year, targeted at those who are most in need.
The package will see millions of the most vulnerable households receive at least £1,200
of support in total this year to help with the cost of living, with all domestic electricity
customers receiving at least £400 to help with their bills.</p><p>The department aims
to ensure that children waiting to be found new adoptive families are placed with
as little wait as possible. Tackling long waits for children who require new adoptive
families is a key priority in the 2021 Adoption Strategy ‘Achieving excellence everywhere’.
The department is funding Regional Adoption Agency (RRA) leaders to improve the recruitment
of adopters, matching children with approved adopters and adoption support over the
next three years. In the past year, RAAs have focused on those children who wait the
longest and have seen a fall in the number of children with a court placement order
waiting for 18 months, from 390 at March 2020 to 240 at September 2022.</p><p>Where
necessary, the statutory framework covering adoption allows RRAs and local authorities
to provide financial support to adoptive parents to support the placement of a child
or the continuation of adoption arrangements.</p><p>Adult adoptees should be able
to access the support that they need, particularly around their mental health needs.
The department is publicly consulting on amendments to regulations to simplify arrangements
for providers who support adopted adults that will increase the accessibility of support
services. One of the proposed changes in the consultation is to remove the requirement
that therapists be registered with Ofsted when providing counselling services to adopted
adults. This change is recommended in Adoption UK’s ‘Cost of living crisis: impact
on adoptive families and adopted people’ report.</p><p>The government is also improving
NHS mental health support availability. The NHS Long Term Plan and mental health expansion
plans will increase funding for mental health services, to target groups with severe
mental illness and young people.</p><p> </p>
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