By Katharine Choi

Despite government and private groups’ efforts to meet the ever-increasing demand for daycare services, thousands of children are still possibly being left home alone.

Meanwhile, experts maintain that the solution lies in the reorganization of neighbourhood networks.

In Hong Kong, if most parents are both working, they may leave their children alone at home.

A survey conducted by the Hong Kong Council for Social Service found that 67,000 children were sometimes left at home alone by their parents; amongst them, 42,000 were left for more than 2 hours.

Under public pressure, the government has undertaken the main responsibility of childcare for working parents.

The government has provided such services in 130 child daycare centres.

At the end of 1994, about 26,000 childcare places had been provided by subvented institutions and 11,000 places by private organizations.

Each childcare centre reserves some places for children left by their parents for a short time.

This year, 250 temporary places have been planned to be put into service in Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan, where there is an increasing need for the service. The services are provided for children under 6 years old.

Primary school children aged between 6 and 12 can enjoy before or after school care services provided by some community centres. The goal is to prevent the students from staying home alone.

The centres provide lunch for children and organize activities like group games with an academic focus. The fee varies from centre to centre. For the temporary service, it costs $52 for a whole day, $26 for a half day and $13 for a 2-hour session.

To lessen parents’ financial burden, government subsidies are provided.

The Caritas Social Centre in Ngau Tau Kok, with 60 children joining the scheme this year, has provided daycare services for 11 years.

“Parents tell us we help them a lot,” said Miss Lo Yin Ching, a social work assistant in charge of the programme. “We can help children do their school work and they enjoy having time with us.”

The service runs from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Children are divided into morning and afternoon classes according to their school schedules.

Apart from tutorial classes with a ratio of 6 children to 1 tutor, they also have activities like interest and developmental groups, film shows, birthday parties and outdoor activities.

“Children develop a sense of belonging to the centre for the love and care they receive here. They also have a chance to develop their communication skills and share their experience with others,” said Miss Lo.

According to Miss Lo, about 70 percent of the children participating in the scheme come from single-parent families, mainly in the East Kowloon district. There are also children whose parents are invalids, mentally retarded or metally ill.

Despite the increasing number of vacancies provided by the government and charity groups, about 3,000 spaces in demand for the services are still unmet. Such shortage of services also occurs in after school care service.

“We always have a long waiting list,” said Miss Lo.

She said they arrange the children’s order of enrolment according to family background.

“Children with nobody attending them during daytime will certainly be accepted earlier,” said she.

Staff are told to pay home visits to better understand the children’s backgrounds.

In addition to the shortage of vacancies, inflexibility inhibits parents from getting the services.

Services are only provided in daytime, but not at night. Parents are supposed to take care of their children when they are off work.

Parents also have to take their children to the centres, even if they live far away the centres. The Social Welfare Department suggested that parents can have their children looked after by neighbours or relatives if they have to leave them at night.

The Department can also arrange emergency service if parents make a demand through the police.

Dr. Daniel Shek, a senior lecturer in the Social Work Department at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, suggested an informal childcare service apart from governmental services and parents’ responsibility.

“Several decades ago, children would be looked after by their neighbours when their parents had to leave home, so timing and location were more flexible and convenient,” he said.

“The well-established social network enabled people to rely on mutual help,” Dr. Shek said.

However, the breakdown of social networks drives parents to depend on the government, he said.

He suggested the rebuilding of social networks by organizing housewives, especially in public housing estates, to provide temporary childcare services.

“The government cannot provide services as accessible and convenient as neighbours’ help,” he warned.