Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ17: Foster care services

Following is a question by the Hon Tsang Yok-sing and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (February 23):


Question:


It has been reported that around 1, 300 abandoned children were living in residential child care institutions or with foster families in each of the past two years. The Government has recently indicated that some residential child care institution placements would be replaced by foster care placements. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:


(a) of the number of children in the past three years who were neither looked after by their families nor accepted by residential child care institutions, and the reasons for not accepting these children;


(b) of the unit costs of residential child care institutions and of foster families, and the major expenses (such as staff remuneration) included in such costs; and


(c) whether replacing some residential child care institution placements by foster care placements will increase the number of children who are benefited; if so, of the estimated rate of increase each year?


Reply:


Madam President,


(a) The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has always placed the well-being of children, including orphans and abandoned children, high on its agenda, and would strive to provide them with all appropriate services. If children are in need of residential care service because their parents cannot look after them temporarily, or due to other family problems such as being abandoned by their families or in the case of child abuse, social workers will arrange for them the appropriate residential child care service, including foster care placements, or placements in small group homes/residential child care institutions or boys'/girls' homes, etc., depending on their individual and family circumstances. If a child has to be placed on a waiting list, social workers will discuss with his/her parents on the transitional child care arrangement such as entrusting the child to the care of relatives during the waiting period. For children in pressing need of residential care service (i.e. in need of immediate residential placement), social workers may arrange for them to live in emergency foster care families, children's reception centres or places of refuge. According to the record of the central referral system for residential child care service and the central co-ordinating referral mechanism for studying in schools for social development/staying in residential child care institutions, no children who lacked family care were deprived of residential child care service in the past three years, and about 1, 000 children are given residential care placements each year.


(b) Under the 2004-05 approved budget, the unit cost of foster care service is $8,525 per month, covering maintenance grant for foster care, incentive payment for foster care parents, operation cost of the organisation concerned and staff remuneration, etc. The unit costs for small group homes and residential child care institutions are $12,413 and $11,132 per month respectively, including the child's monthly living expenses, operation cost of the organisation concerned and staff remuneration, etc.


(c) As home care rather than residential care has been found to be more effective in addressing the needs of the children, SWD has been actively developing foster care services in recent years to enable the children to grow up in a more suitable and flexible non-institutional environment. On top of this, in order to optimise the usage of existing resources on residential child care service, SWD has also worked jointly with NGOs to carry out service re-engineering by reducing in stages the number of places in some of the residential child care institutions/small group homes (such as the residential nurseries with relatively low enrolment rate). At the same time, the number of foster care places is increased to address the needs of the children and enhance service effectiveness, in order to benefit more children. In this financial year, the total number of residential child care places to date has increased from 3, 305 to 3, 314 as a result of service re-engineering. In the next financial year, the SWD will continue to explore the feasibility of service re-engineering and the rate of increase in placements is to be confirmed.





Ends/Wednesday, February 23, 2005

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