On 7 November 2016, our Partner, Ms Catherine Por, visited the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society (“HKFWS”) Parent-child Contact Centre in Lai Chi Kok with other members of the Family Law Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong. The visit was organized in light of the commencement of a two-year Pilot Project on Children Contact Service by the Social Welfare Department on 21 September 2016. The Project is commissioned to the HKFWS, an organization committed to deliver quality and professional social services to enhance the well-being of family and individuals in Hong Kong.
During the visit, Ms Por received the most up-to-date information from the HKFWS of the newly launched “child-focused” children contact service, which aims to support the separated/divorced parents on effective child care arrangement and assist the divorced parents to learn “child-focused” co-parenting.
The service contents include:-
(1) “Children Contact-Service” Helpline
To provide information on children contact/exchange services for the community and needy parents with children from divorced families.
(2) Supervised Contact Service
To assist, arrange or supervise children to meet with non-residing parents or other family members by professional Visitation Monitors (Registered Social Workers).
(3) Supervised Exchange Service
To arrange or assist supervised exchange service by professional Visitation Monitors to facilitate smooth exchange of children between homes of parents, or the exchange helped by neutral third parties as agreed by both parents during exchange to avoid conflicts.
(4) Co-Parenting Training/Workshop
To organize training/workshops for parents or families with difficulties in co-parenting, so as to help them understand the impacts of divorce on children’s well-being, and to learn how to implement a “child-focused” co-parenting.
(5) Co-Parenting Community Education Service
To promote parental responsibility and co-parenting from “child-focused” perspective through educational seminars, exhibitions and service promotion activities, and develop the concept and model of “co-parenting” in addressing the best interest of children.”
Extracted from the HKFWS Service Brief.
Please contact our Ms Catherine Por for any enquiries or further information about this event.
