Government expands Family-Finding Support for Children in Care

Children and young people in care across England are set to benefit from expanded family-finding support following a new government investment aimed at helping them reconnect with important people in their lives.

The Department for Education has announced £8.4 million in funding to extend family-finding programmes, which support care-experienced children and young people to identify and rebuild relationships with relatives, former carers, teachers, mentors and other trusted adults.

The investment forms part of the government's wider programme to strengthen lifelong relationships for children in care and care leavers. Ministers say the approach recognises that stable, supportive relationships are often as important as practical assistance when young people transition into adulthood.

Family-finding programmes work by helping children and young people explore their personal networks and reconnect with people who have played a positive role in their lives. Specially trained practitioners support participants to locate individuals, assess the suitability of renewed contact and help establish safe and meaningful relationships.

According to the Department for Education, schemes funded in recent years have already shown encouraging results, with participants developing additional meaningful connections and, in many cases, re-establishing relationships with close family members and other significant adults.

Children's Minister Josh MacAlister said that lasting relationships must become a central feature of children's social care, arguing that too many young people leave care without the support networks that many others take for granted.

The announcement builds on broader children's social care reforms being implemented across England, including measures designed to improve stability, strengthen support for families and ensure more children grow up with strong and enduring relationships.

Sector organisations have broadly welcomed the investment, highlighting the importance of helping children maintain links with family, friends and other trusted adults. They argue that stronger support networks can improve wellbeing, reduce isolation and contribute to better long-term outcomes for care-experienced young people.

The expansion is expected to enable more local authorities to offer family-finding support, with the government positioning relationship-based practice as a key part of its vision for the future of children's social care.