Hong Kong foster system ‘on brink of collapse’
Number of children needing temporary homes being inflated by drugs, mental health problems and broken-down relationships, say carers
Hong Kong’s foster care system is on the brink of collapse as the number of children from broken homes outstrips the number foster families willing to take them in, according to carers.
Social workers and carers responsible for placing children in safe and secure homes said this mismatch is stretching the system to the limit.
Failed relationships, a rise in mental health problems and drug abuse among poor Hong Kong families are key factors blamed for the rising demand.
“We need to increase the number of foster families or the whole system will collapse,” said Londy Chan Choi-lin, director of foster care agency St Christopher’s Home, who has been rehoming children for over ten years.
Finding children temporary homes has always been difficult in this densely populated city. But the problem is getting worse, as children need longer stays away from home than before. This creates “jams” in a system that has not been reformed since 1995.
Chan described how the system has turned on its head in the ten years since she started.