Better care on the cards for home alone children
The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has produced 150,000 calendar cards for 1998, with child care hotline numbers on the reverse to promote home safety.
The calendar cards, which encourage the public to make use of occasional child care service, are available at all district offices, SWD district offices and sub-offices, as well as the Hong Kong Council of Social Services.
'Children should under no circumstances be left unattended at home, even for a short while,' a department spokesman said.
At present, there are 219 child care centres, providing 684 occasional child care places for needy families.
Child care centres offer temporary care for children aged under six on a two-hour, half-day or whole-day basis. The fee for a two-hour session is $16.
Those interested may call the department's hotline on 2343 2255 or the Child Care Centre Advisory Inspectorate on 2835 2725.
'Parents having child care problems can seek help from the department's 42 family services centres throughout the territory,' the spokesman said.
