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Volunteers in adoption service commended

Eighty-four volunteers who have rendered dedicated service to special needs children awaiting for adoption were today (Saturday) commended by the Director of Social Welfare, Mr Ian Strachan.

Speaking at the Third Award Presentation Ceremony for Volunteers in Adoption Service, Mr Strachan paid tribute to the volunteers for their unfailing support and hard work in assisting these children.

"Without your efforts, our special needs children could not be so well-prepared for adoption.

"Your help in visiting the children, taking them out to play and exercise, providing them with pre-adoption fostering, assistance in medical and nursing care and rehabilitation programmes, and sharing with them your love and care, are most important to our children's development in their health condition, self-care abilities, social skills and emotional development."

All these had greatly facilitated the children's successful integration into their new adoptive families, he added.

He noted that the young, normal and healthy children could join adoptive homes relatively quickly, most of them within three months after they were found suitable for adoption.

However, disabled children, those having health problems, children of older age and those with complicated family background had to wait longer for a suitable home, Mr Strachan said.

In order to increase the adoption chance of special needs children, Mr Strachan said his department had enlisted the co-operation of Mother's Choice and the International Social Service (Hong Kong Branch) and had entered into a formal arrangement on overseas adoption service with Holt International Children's Services in May.

"All these agencies have put in much efforts to publicise our overseas adoption programme so that more adoptive parents can be recruited for our special needs children.