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LCQ12: Teenagers who have come from the Mainland to settle in Hong Kong
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     Following is a question by Dr Hon Elizabeth Quat and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, in the Legislative Council today (May 24):

Question:

  Regarding teenagers (i.e. persons aged between 10 and 19) who have come from the Mainland to settle in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of teenagers who came from the Mainland to settle in Hong Kong in each of the past five years;

(2) of the current number of such teenagers in Hong Kong;

(3) whether various government departments conducted dedicated studies in the past five years on various kinds of adaptation problems (including aspects such as cultural variations, psychological health and sense of belonging) faced by such teenagers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) whether the various government departments currently provide such teenagers with special support, including support that helps them resolve adaptation problems and integrate into Hong Kong society; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     Various government bureaux and departments (B/Ds) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have been providing a range of services to meet the needs of new arrivals from the Mainland (NA), including youths, according to their respective policy areas. After consulting relevant B/Ds, the consolidated reply to the question raised is as follows:

(1) According to the statistics of the Security Bureau, number of holders of Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macau (the Permits) aged between 10 and 19 entering Hong Kong in the past five years (Note) are as follows:
 
Year Number   Year Number
2012 5 716   2015 5 197
2013 5 215   2016 10 538
2014 5 208      

(2) The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) does not have the statistics of the current situation of holders of Permits aged between 10 and 19 entering Hong Kong in the past five years. Nevertheless, the 2016 Population By-census conducted by C&SD collected statistics of persons from the Mainland having resided in Hong Kong for less than seven years (with age group information) and the relevant statistics will be available in the middle of this year.
 
(3) and (4) Support services for NA youths provided by B/Ds are as follows:

Community Integration
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     The Home Affairs Department (HAD) provides support services to NAs, including youths, to facilitate their integration into the community. Major services include District-based Integration Programmes which provide funding for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to organise various community activities, set up mutual help networks, etc. in districts where many NAs live together; Ambassador Scheme which arranges ambassadors with background and experience similar to those of NAs to proactively contact and introduce various public services to them, and where necessary, refer cases to social workers for follow-up; Expectation Management Programmes in the Mainland that organise programmes for applicants of the Permits to facilitate their understanding of the realistic situation in Hong Kong. HAD also conducts surveys on NAs to collect information of their service needs and the quarterly reports are uploaded to HAD's website for reference of concerned B/Ds, NGOs and local organisations; and co-ordinates with concerned B/Ds and NGOs to update and publish the Service Handbook for New Arrivals regularly.

Education Support
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     The Education Bureau (EDB) assists NA students to integrate into Hong Kong society and overcome learning barriers. Parents may choose to enrol them into a full-time Initiation Programme (IP) before studying in mainstream schools. IP lasts for six months and the curriculum includes Chinese, English, learning skills and social adaptation. As to the vast majority of the NA students who choose to study in mainstream schools, schools can also make use of the School-based Support Scheme Grant to organise school-based support programmes such as arranging tutorial classes, organising orientation programmes and guidance activities. EDB also subvents NGOs to run a 60-hour Induction Programme at night or weekend for NA students studying in mainstream schools, so as to help them understand the community and local culture, as well as master learning skills. Furthermore, as a holistic approach to assist students in meeting their learning needs, schools may flexibly utilise various kinds of EDB resources to address students' learning diversities and help them integrate into the learning environment. If there are any challenges in learning, social life, behavioural and emotional developments, students may seek help from school social workers or student guidance personnel who may render assistance according to students' needs and, where necessary, refer their cases to other service units for provision of appropriate services.

Employment Training
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     NA youths aged 15 or above can enrol in the some 700 training courses offered by the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) according to their needs and interests, e.g. Youth Training Programme. The ERB also offers one full-time placement-tied and four half-day or evening generic skills training courses dedicated for NAs. These courses cover training in personal attributes and job search skills, basic usage of Cantonese and English, understanding of traditional Chinese characters, community resources, etc. The courses would help NAs understand and improve their adaptability to the local employment market, acquire job search skills and establish positive working attitude. In addition, NAs can make use of the ERB's dedicated Smart Starter part-time job referral platform as well as the training and employment support services provided by the ERB Service Centres and ERB Service Spots in various districts.
 
     The Labour Department (LD) administers the Youth Employment and Training Programme (YETP) to provide a wide range of pre-employment and on-the-job training to young school leavers aged 15 to 24 with educational attainment at sub-degree level or below. To cater for youths with special employment needs (including NAs), LD has launched under YETP a special project, i.e. the Targeted Career Training Mission (TCTM). Through the provision of personalised career counselling and more flexible pre-employment training and support services, TCTM aims to assist these young people to better understand themselves and their work aptitudes, as well as to enhance their employability.

Welfare Service
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     The 65 Integrated Family Service Centres and two Integrated Services Centres operated by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and NGOs over the territory provide a series of preventive, supportive and remedial welfare services to individuals in need, including NA youths and their parents. Services include counselling, family life education, parent-child activities, training in volunteering services, support/mutual help groups, referral service, etc. Social workers will conduct comprehensive assessment and provide appropriate services through strategies such as early identification and intervention, service integration and partnership with other service stakeholders, etc.

     Besides, SWD, in collaboration with NGOs, has set up Integrated Children and Youth Services Centres (ICYSCs) on a neighbourhood level, providing various youth services, including School Social Work Service, Youth Outreaching Social Work Service, etc. to children and youths in the community with a view to assisting and nurturing them to become mature, responsible and contributing members of society. Currently, there are a total of 138 ICYSCs over the territory providing counselling and support services as well as activities on the development of social responsibility and competence for the children and youths, including NA youths. In view of the multifarious and changing needs of young people, other than rendering developmental, supportive and educational activities, NGO operators also render timely support and intervention through cross-sectoral and inter-departmental collaboration to formulate work plan and service priority to address the needs of children and youths.
 
     SWD also provides funding to the International Social Service Hong Kong Branch (ISSHK) to operate cross-boundary social service, which helps individuals and families handle and solve problems arising from geographical separation. They include NA youths and their parents, children of Mainland-Hong Kong marriage families staying in Hong Kong. ISSHK also approaches NAs at the Lo Wu Control Point and the Registration of Persons Offices of the Immigration Department. It provides the NAs with information on Hong Kong's social services and may refer them to appropriate mainstream service units. SWD has linked up its hotline with the New Arrivals Connect Hotline run by ISSHK. NAs can choose to have their calls transferred to the New Arrivals Connect Hotline so as to receive specific and related services and follow-up on their service needs.
 
     Various B/Ds have been providing a range of appropriate support services to NA youths and would review and enhance such services from time to time. In the course of formulating these services, relevant B/Ds would conduct appropriate policy and service need analyses and studies.

Note: From 1997 to 2016, number of holders of the Permits aged between 10 and 19 entering Hong Kong per annum ranged between 4 396 to 18 675.
 
Ends/Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Issued at HKT 15:00
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