Children

Foster Care Service

What are the differences between “foster care service” and “emergency foster care service”?


Foster Care Service:

- The duration of care usually lasts for more than 6 month depends on the case. Social workers will arrange reunion of the children with their families until they can be restored home.

- The children are already residing at safe places, such as emergency children's homes and emergency foster care families, so there are more time for foster parents to know more about the children and his/her needs and consider the decision through the matching process and face-face-face meetings.

Emergency Foster Care Service:

- Provides immediate and short-term family care to children, whose parents cannot take care of them because of emergency or crisis situations, including family breakdown, parents with illness and child abuse.

- Due to emergency circumstances, there may be no time for the matching process, sometimes the foster child are arranged to join the foster care parents on the same day.

- The duration of care should not exceed 6 weeks.

Source: Ms. Wan, Social Worker (Foster Care Service), Hong Kong Family Welfare Society