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<p>The Adoption Support Fund was developed in recognition that children who have left
the care system, through adoption or special guardianship orders, were not getting
the therapeutic support necessary for them to attach to their new permanent parents
and carers.</p><p>The law is very clear that children in foster care must have a care
plan that sets out their needs and how their local authority will meet them. The care
plan should include information about the child’s emotional and behavioural development,
and how any emotional or behavioural difficulties are to be managed. It must also
include what support should be available to the foster carer to meet the needs of
the child.</p><p>From 2019 to 2021, the government have invested over £1 million to
pilot high quality mental health assessments to maximise learning and inform changes
needed to the mental health assessments of looked after children going forward.</p><p>The
pilots generated considerable learning and we will be working closely with NHS England
and the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure learning from the pilots is
embedded in service delivery for looked after children moving forward, building on
the commitment in the NHS Long-Term plan. The department aims to support pilot sites
to embed and sustain the learning and good practice from the pilot within their local
areas.</p>
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