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Following is a question by the Hon Cyd Ho Sau-lan and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, in the Legislative Council today (March 12):
Question:
With regard to young mothers under the age of 18 and single parents under the age of 21, will the Government inform this Council of the following, for each of the past three years:
(a) a breakdown by age of young mothers under the age of 18 and, among them, the respective numbers of those who have received by social workers upon childbirth and those who are students; whether these students have resumed their studies after childbirth; if so, of the details;
(b) the number of divorce cases involving young parents under the age of 21 and, among them, the number of those who have received by social workers; and
(c) these single parents' accommodation situation (e.g. whether they have their own nuclear families, live with their own parents or live with their former spouses) and employment situation?
Reply:
(a) Statistics on the number of young mothers are only available in the public sector. According to the Hospital Authority, the number of young mothers under the age of 18 (in each of the past 3 years), is as follows -
Year Age 13 14 15 16 17 Total
2000 2 13 24 69 150 258
2001 2 13 11 62 142 238
2002 1 8 20 47 122 198
Of these, 170, 160 and 140 were referred to medical social workers for counselling in 2000, 2001 and 2002 respectively. In addition, some of the other mothers may have approached the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and non-governmental organisations direct for counselling service. For example, amongst the active cases handled by SWD at the end of February 2003, 82 young mothers under the age of 18, received counselling service and other forms of practical assistance.
In this regard, there is an extensive network of 66 Family Service Centres/Integrated Family Service Centres throughout the territory providing services to those with welfare needs, including young mothers. On referral by hospitals, maternal and child health centres, the Immigration Department, schools, other government departments or related parties or on application by the mothers themselves, social workers ascertain their needs and formulate appropriate care plans. Counselling is provided to enhance the young parents' awareness of their parental responsibilities to assist them in better performing their parenting role and to enhance their child-rearing skills.
For those young mothers who are unable to provide their children with adequate care, care by relatives or foster care service can be arranged. In addition, social workers may refer them to receive a variety of support services including child care, financial assistance, housing assistance, family aide or other community support services.
In addition to the services provided by Family Services Centre and medical social work teams, there are five Single Parent Centres set up to provide dedicated support services to enhance the self-reliance and resilience of single parents. The services include supportive counselling, family life education / parent education programmes, group work / networking programmes, employment-related training, volunteer service, information on resources and referral services, etc. An outreach service is also available to identify those single parent families in need of early intervention. In 2001-02, the five centres served nearly 3,000 single parent families.
We do not routinely collect statistics on the number of these mothers who were students at the time of giving birth and whether they subsequently resumed their studies.
School-age young mothers who have left school and who wish to resume schooling can approach the Regional Education Offices of the Education and Manpower Bureau for assistance. On resumption of their studies, young mothers are given specific guidance and remedial programmes, when in need.
(b) According to the Judiciary, the number of divorce cases filed with the Family Court Registry over the past three years were -
Year No. of divorce cases
2000 14,063
2001 15,380
2002 16,839
However, the number of divorce cases involving young parents under the age of 21 and the number of those who received counselling by social workers are not readily available.
Amongst the active cases handled by SWD at the end of February 2003, counselling service and other forms of practical assistance were provided to 53 divorced single parents under the age of 21. Young parents involved in divorce proceedings may also approach non-governmental organisations for service.
(c) Comprehensive statistics on the accommodation and employment situation of divorced single young parents under the age of 21 would require extensive study and are not routinely collected. Out of the 53 young single parents referred to para. (b), 42 were unemployed and 11 were employed. As regards their accommodation situation, 44 were living only with their children. The others were either living alone, living with their ex-spouse/cohabitant or living with their parents/siblings.
The Housing Department is committed to providing housing assistance to youth mothers and single parents with accommodation needs arising from their single parenthood. For instance, the Housing Department may, in consultation with SWD, assist them through immediate allocation of public rental flats, permitting their temporary stay or formal addition to their parents' public rental flats, arranging special transfer from one public rental flat to another, to facilitate better care for them and their children.
On the other hand, young parents undergoing divorce proceedings may seek a conditional tenancy in public rental housing if they are in need of separate accommodation from their spouse. The conditional tenancy may be turned into a permanent tenancy upon the court's confirmation of the award of custody of the children.
End/Wednesday, March 12, 2003
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