Case Studies Adoption Support Fund

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	Adoption Support Fund

Adoption Support Fund

Technology Category	Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Functions	Business Operation
Use Cases	Digital Thread Process Control & Optimization
Services	Software Design & Engineering Services System Integration
Challenge	In early 2015, the UK Department for Education (DfE) decided to expand the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) across England after a successful prototype phase with 13 local authorities. However, the prototype service relied on manual processes that were not scalable to meet the needs of 152 local authorities. The need for an IT solution to support the local authority application process was clear, but initial estimates for the project were six months, and additional staff would be needed to administer applications during development. Read More
About Customer	The Adoption Support Fund (ASF) is a program set up by the UK Department for Education (DfE) to provide a way for adopted children and their families to access the therapy they need. The fund aims to make life easier for adoptive families and support adopted children to realize their potential, despite any trauma, loss, or neglect they may have experienced before their adoption. The ASF is a vital lifeline for many adoptive families, helping them access specialist support services. The fund was initially prototyped with 13 local authorities and later expanded to cover 152 local authorities across England. Read More
Solution	Mott MacDonald, a global engineering, management, and development consultancy, demonstrated to the DfE how MATS Low-code could help. In a groundbreaking project, the MATS and Mott MacDonald team used Low-code to configure a prototype in two weeks, which was further refined over four weeks of user testing, workshops, and feedback. The results were astonishing: in six weeks, the team delivered a national IT solution to 152 local authorities. The project was on time, on budget, and provided all features requested by the ASF, ensuring the process ran smoothly without the need to hire additional administration staff. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Use Cases

Digital Thread

Process Control & Optimization

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

System Integration

Challenge

In early 2015, the UK Department for Education (DfE) decided to expand the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) across England after a successful prototype phase with 13 local authorities. However, the prototype service relied on manual processes that were not scalable to meet the needs of 152 local authorities. The need for an IT solution to support the local authority application process was clear, but initial estimates for the project were six months, and additional staff would be needed to administer applications during development.

About Customer

The Adoption Support Fund (ASF) is a program set up by the UK Department for Education (DfE) to provide a way for adopted children and their families to access the therapy they need. The fund aims to make life easier for adoptive families and support adopted children to realize their potential, despite any trauma, loss, or neglect they may have experienced before their adoption. The ASF is a vital lifeline for many adoptive families, helping them access specialist support services. The fund was initially prototyped with 13 local authorities and later expanded to cover 152 local authorities across England.

Solution

Mott MacDonald, a global engineering, management, and development consultancy, demonstrated to the DfE how MATS Low-code could help. In a groundbreaking project, the MATS and Mott MacDonald team used Low-code to configure a prototype in two weeks, which was further refined over four weeks of user testing, workshops, and feedback. The results were astonishing: in six weeks, the team delivered a national IT solution to 152 local authorities. The project was on time, on budget, and provided all features requested by the ASF, ensuring the process ran smoothly without the need to hire additional administration staff.

Impact #1	Richard and Jill’s children are getting the therapy they need and making great progress, thanks to the Adoption Support Fund.
Impact #2	The ASF helped 5,300 families in its first full year alone, providing the necessary support to improve and extend the service further into the future.
Impact #3	The MATS solution has been enriched to process Special Guardianship Order applications and enables the ASF to monitor local authority adoption and provide targeted help where needed.

Impact #1

Richard and Jill’s children are getting the therapy they need and making great progress, thanks to the Adoption Support Fund.

Impact #2

The ASF helped 5,300 families in its first full year alone, providing the necessary support to improve and extend the service further into the future.

Impact #3

The MATS solution has been enriched to process Special Guardianship Order applications and enables the ASF to monitor local authority adoption and provide targeted help where needed.

Benefit #1	8,070 approved applications
Benefit #2	Built in 2 weeks, Live in 6 weeks
Benefit #3	9,698 children helped

Benefit #1

8,070 approved applications

Benefit #2

Built in 2 weeks, Live in 6 weeks

Benefit #3

9,698 children helped

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Overview

Adoption Support Fund

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit