From the beginning of this year, HKSPC has carried out a series of reforms to uphold the “children-first” commitment and ensure our children are well cared for. We have already appointed the new Director of the agency and new Superintendent of Children’s Residential Home (CRH), and replaced the frontline child care workers at CRH. In addition, we have established new departments and positions comprising executives with extensive experience in the relevant fields in order to improve our governance and transform the agency’s overall culture, with a view to delivering the best services to the children we serve.

Deputy Director (Child Care and Education)

This new management role is held by Ms Mary Wong who has served in the social welfare sector for over 30 years, with broad experience in pre-school edu-care service development and management. She is mainly responsible for assisting the agency in further upgrading our pre-school edu-care services, including nursery schools, day crèches and CRH. She will work on enhancing the overall service quality, improving resources allocation and coordinating the collaboration between service units and teams. With regard to CRH, Ms Wong has been focusing on ensuring a smooth transition at the conclusion of the CRH Reform Project, particularly in providing professional inputs and support to enriching staff training in caring for children with special background and developmental needs, and implementing the ITERS/ECERS (Infant/Toddler and Early Childhood Environment Rating Scales).

Child Safeguarding Department

This newly established department is led by Child Safeguarding Consultant Ms Gloria Lau who has extensive experience in children’s work and law enforcement agency. Its mission is to develop new and forward-thinking policies and procedures. The Consultant, who is proficient at the SWD’s “Protecting Children from Maltreatment – Procedural Guide for Multi-disciplinary Co-operation”, will set out clear guidelines and carry out trainings to ensure that staff at all levels understand and follow the principles and practices of child safeguarding and protection. Comprehensive emotional support and guidance will also be provided to the employees, together with an enquiry hotline. For the public, the department will promote the principles and knowledge about child safeguarding.

Ms Gloria Lau conducting staff training

Risk Management, Compliance and Internal Audit Department (RMD)

Reporting directly to the HKSPC’s Audit and Risk Management Committee, this new department comprises executives who have held key positions in multinational corporations, banks and the government. Their primary responsibilities include assisting the agency in developing and implementing a risk management and compliance assurance system, as well as conducting internal audits. Led by Audit and Risk Management Director Mr William Yue, RMD members are currently focusing on helping various departments assess their risks and come up with mitigation measures.

We are excited to see our new management teams bring new inputs and perspectives to the development and governance of the agency, and all our staff members working together for a healthy, happy and safe childhood for our children.