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The branch will shortly issue a paper on the subject to District Boards to facilitate discussion at the briefing on December 28.
"We sincerely hope every District Board member with an interest in the subject will turn up at this briefing," the spokesman said.
End/Saturday, December 10, 1994
Social Welfare Director celebrates Christmas with his wards
Guess who has the largest number of children in Hong Kong?
Not too many people realise that the answer is the Director of Social Welfare, Mr Ian Strachan. He has more than 600.
These children are called Wards of the Director of Social Welfare (DSW Wards) and are all under 21. They have been put under his guardianship by Court orders because their natural parents, owing to various reasons, are unable to exercise their parental right either temporarily or on long-term basis.
The total number of DSW Wards was 644 at the end of October this year.
"I have become their legal guardian since I took over the helm of the department in December 1992. I am pleased to see that through our carers and social workers, our children have been able to be placed in a harmonious home environment to help their growth," Mr Strachan said.
He added that while some of his wards were being looked after by their own relatives, a lot of these underprivileged children were placed in home-like settings such as foster homes or small group homes. Others were being taken care of by hostels, residential creches or nurseries operated by the Social Welfare Department or non-governmental organisations.
"The welfare of each ward is our paramount concern when we arrange temporary placement and formulate their long-term welfare plans," Mr Strachan said.
The Social Welfare Department will normally arrange local or overseas adoption for DSW Wards who are abandoned or relinquished by their parents.