XN000022-1992-03-04 — Page 40

38

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 1992

"PROLONGED INSTITUTIONAL LIFE BEARS FAR-REACHING EFFECTS ON THE OVERALL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD, PARTICULARLY HIS HAPPINESS AND ABILITY TO ADAPT TO FAMILY LIFE AS HE GROWS UP INTO ADULTHOOD, SHE ADDED.

P

CHILDREN NOT ONLY NEEDED PHYSICAL

CARE, BUT ALSO INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION OF LOVE AND SECURITY IN A WARM HOME ENVIRONMENT, SHE STRESSED.

"AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND, FOSTER CARE AND SMALL GROUP HOMES HAVE EMERGED AS IMPORTANT CHILD CARE SERVICES IN HONG KONG,' SHE SAID.

IN FOSTER CARE, A CHILD IS PLACED IN THE HOME OF FOSTER PARENTS WHICH WILL CREATE A FAMILY SITUATION FOR THE CHILD AND ENABLE NORMAL AND HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT TO PROCEED.

A SMALL GROUP HOME, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS THE CARE OF A SMALL GROUP OF NOT MORE THAN EIGHT CHILDREN BY A HOME-LIKE SETTING WITH A STAFFING STRUCTURE TO MODELLING OVER A FAMILY.

"THE MERITS OF A SMALL GROUP HOME IS THE PROVISION OF A HOME-LIKE RESIDENTIAL SETTING FOR THE CHILD," MRS GOODSTAPT ADDED.

IT COULD ALSO CATER FOR THOSE CHILDREN WHO MIGHT NOT YET BE *READY FOR THE MORE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP OF FOSTER HOME, SHE NOTED.

THESE EFFORTS AT SERVICE EXPANSION AND BREAKING UP LARGE INSTITUTIONS WOULD GIVE IMPETUS TO THE REPLACEMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL CARE BY FOSTER CARE AND SMALL GROUP HOMES AS THE MAIN STREAM IN CARE SERVICES IN HONG KONG, SHE SAID,

CHILD

WITH THE AVAILABILITY OF THESE TWO KINDS OF NON-INSTITUTIONAL SERVICE, CHILDREN DID NOT HAVE TO BE PLACED IN LARGE INSTITUTIONS WHERE THEY HAD TO INTERACT WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF ADULTS AND ABIDE TO REGULATIONS WHEN THEY WERE ALREADY IN A STATE OF EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY AND FRUSTRATIONS, SHE ADDED.

ON SERVICE DEVELOPMENTS, THE DEPARTMENT WILL BE GIVEN $1.8 MILLION TO PROVIDE 80 FOSTER CARE PLACES AND SIX SMALL GROUP HOMES IN THE COMING FINANCIAL YEAR.

"THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS WILL INCREASE THIS MORE APPROPRIATE KIND OF CARE FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN TO 504 PLACES," SHE SAID.

BOTH FOSTER PARENTS AND PARENTS IN SMALL GROUP HOMES WILL BE SUPPORTED BY PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL WORKERS SO THAT THE HOMELESS CHILDREN WILL ADJUST TO THE NEW ENVIRONMENT WITH THE MINIMAL DISRUPTION TO THEIR DEVELOPMENT.

"TOTAL SPENDING IN THIS PROGRAMME FOR CHILDREN IS ABOUT $20 MILLION CURRENTLY, MRS GOODSTADT SAID.

"

SHE STRESSED THAT THE SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT WAS ACTIVELY HEADING FOR EXPANSION IN BOTH FOSTER CARE AND SMALL GROUP HOME SERVICES.

/SHE, HOWEVER

Page 40Page 41