Family Matters
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Part 6
Family problems and support services
in Hong Kong
Family Matters
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Child care
Source 1:
News report
Home alone children called for help
A nine-year-old boy telephoned the police for help four days after his father left
him, his sister and his brother home alone and went to the mainland. Their mother,
who is divorced from their father, could not be found.
The child told the police on Wednesday that he, his 10-year-old sister and
12-year-old brother had only biscuits left to eat. They had no money to buy food
or to go to school.
A social worker said parents should keep a close eye on their children at all times.
If they have problems they should seek help from the Social Welfare Department
or community organizations for child-care services.
“Leaving children alone at home is very dangerous. They could be injured or fall
out of a window. In some cases the result could be loss of lives,” she said.
“Children of 12 are not old enough to take care of themselves.”
The social worker said the present child care services run by the SAR
Government were insufficient and inflexible and she urged the Government to
allocate more resources.
A recent survey showed that one out of five working mothers who were new
arrivals from the mainland left their children unattended because they could not
afford child care service.
(Adapted from a newspaper, 15 September 2000)
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Source 2: FAQ
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I have difficulties in taking care of my child. What residential child
care services are available?
Residential child care services provide care and supervision for
children and young persons under the age of 21 who cannot be cared
for by their families because of various reasons such as behaviour,
emotional or relationship problem, or family crisis arising from
illness, death and desertion.
What should I do if I want to apply for residential child care services?
To separate children from their families should be considered only
when there is no better alternative. If residential child care service is
considered necessary, parents may contact welfare service units in the
community.
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Both my husband and I have to work in the daytime and we have a
small child to take care of. What kind of services can help us?
You can make use of Government aided day child care services for
children under 6 years. Most child care centres open from 8:00 a.m.
to 6:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday and 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on
Saturday. Besides, there are centres which provide extended hours
service to meet the special needs of parents who require longer hours
of child care services.
(Adapted from the web page of the Social Welfare Department)
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For your information
Child care service
It aims to support the family and take care of children under 6.
Here are some Non-governmental Organizations (NGO) providing child care service:
NGO
Web sites
Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service
http://www.bokss.org.hk/
Christian Family Service Centre
http://www.cfsc.org.hk/
Tung Wah Group of Hospitals
http://www.tungwah.org.hk/
Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service
http://www.lutheran.org.hk/
Po Leung Kuk
http://www.poleungkuk.org.hk/
St. James' Settlement
http://www.sjs.org.hk/
Residential child care services
They are provided for children and young persons under the age of 21 who cannot
be adequately cared for by their families.
Here is a Non-governmental Organization (NGO) providing residential child care
service:
NGO
Web site
Po Leung Kuk
http://www.poleungkuk.
org.hk/
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After reading sources 1 and 2, please answer the following questions.
a.
Why did the child call the police for help?
He and his sister and brother were left along by his father and their mother
could not be found.
b.
Where had their father gone?
He had gone to the mainland.
c.
Why didn’t their mother stay home?
Their mother was divorced from their father.
d.
What are the possible dangers when parents leave their children alone at home?
- Children could be injured or fall out of a window.
- There could be loss of lives.
e.
Can the family mentioned in source 1 apply for residential child care services?
Why?
Yes
- Residential child care service is provided for families which are not capable
of taking proper care of their children under 21 years old.
- The family mentioned in source 1 is such a family.
f.
Do you think it is easy for families to be given residential child care services?
Why?
Not so easy
- There are insufficient child care services.
- Lots of families require such services and they have to wait for the
allocation.
g.
Can the family mentioned in source 1 apply for day child care services? Why?
No
- Day child care services are only provided for children under 6.
- All the children in the family mentioned in source 1 are above 6.
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Child abuse
Child abuse occurs when an adult or adults treat a child badly or hurt the child. The
abuse can be physical, emotional, sexual, or a combination of all three.
Group discussion
With reference to the picture above, fill in the following table during your discussion.
if you discover that the
child living next door to
What would you do?
(No standard answers)
- tell my parents
- tell the social workers in social service centres
you has been abused
if you have been abused
(free answer)
- tell my teachers
- tell the social workers in social service centres
- tell my parents
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What have you learned?
You are able to
1.
contact the child care services available to
needy families;
2.
do your part in preventing child abuse.
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