Foster Home To Carry Out Reform After Alleged Abuses

The Society for the Protection of Children said it will completely reform the management of its foster home after more thirty staff members were arrested over alleged child abuse.

The group’s executive committee chair, Robin Hammond, said in a press release published Thursday that the Children’s Residential Home (CRH) will be teaming up with various NGOs and institutions to rebuild an effective management system over the next nine months.

The society said tailored training will be provided to the home’s new superintendent, Loretta Cheung, to ensure “the right leadership mindset and capability”.

All of the facility’s frontline child care workers – most of them newly recruited in the past couple of months – will also receive training on topics such as children’s rights and how to build a home-like environment.

Hammond was quoted as saying in a staff briefing earlier that he hopes the complete revamp will restore public trust in the foster home.

“This is a complete re-assessment of the service model of the Residential Home,” he said.

“The damage to our reputation caused by the incident in CRH is very considerable. The critical issue is that we reform CRH and restore trust across the much broader society in all areas. We must be seen to be doing the best possible for all stakeholders."

A total of 34 workers at the facility have been arrested over alleged negligence or abuse since late December.

The scandal came to light last year after police received reports that employees had allegedly abused dozens of children under their care at the organisation’s centre in Prince Edward by pulling their hair, hitting their heads, slapping their faces and tossing them on the floor.