Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam said yesterday that the government will conduct a comprehensive review of the management and operation of children’s care homes, following a case in which a male warden was arrested for sexually assaulting a boy and surreptitiously filming him and four other boys.
According to a statement by the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS), O Lam made the remarks during a meeting held at the bureau by relevant government entities with representatives from the social service sector and operators of children’s care homes.
O Lam, who convened and chaired the meeting, said the government needed to take the incident seriously and work with children’s care homes and relevant organisations to identify shortcomings in existing management and operational arrangements.
O Lam also said the meeting aimed to explore measures to improve the management of children’s care homes and create a safer and healthier environment for children. The measures would also be extended to other residential care services for vulnerable groups to set up a comprehensive protection network across social service institutions.
Representatives at the meeting proposed measures including improving risk assessment and management systems for different types of care homes, strengthening staff recruitment and background checks, enhancing daily supervision and inspection, promoting children’s self-protection awareness, and improving staff training, professional ethics, and accreditation.
According to the statement, the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) will take the suggestions into consideration and improve relevant mechanisms, including strengthening supervision of care institutions, enhancing recruitment requirements and training, and optimising night-time patrol arrangements.
The government said it would maintain close communication with relevant organisations, implement the improvement measures in an orderly manner, and release progress reports to the public in a timely manner.
The warden was transferred by the Judiciary Police (PJ) to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Friday for further questioning and possible arraignment on child abuse and related charges.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam (centre) chairs a meeting with representatives from the social service sector and social welfare government officials to review the management mechanisms of children’s care homes at the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) yesterday. – Photo: GCS
