LCQ17: Strengthening support for foster care service
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ17: Strengthening support for foster care service
Year(as at end 2025) The average number of ordinary foster families available for matching (including relief foster families) per month in the past five years are tabulated below:
Year(as at end 2025)(2) to (3) According to the information of the Central Foster Care Unit of the SWD, the number of registered foster families has increased from 954 in 2021-22 to 1 112 in 2025-26 (as at end 2025), representing an increase of about 16.6 per cent. Whereas the number of foster families withdrawn from service has decreased from 71 to 31, representing a decrease of about 56.3 per cent. The primary reasons for withdrawing from foster care service include caring for other family members or personal plans, such as travelling or taking a break. The number of registered foster families and foster families withdrawn from service in the past five years are tabulated below:
Year(as at end 2025) The age distribution of foster parents in the past five years are tabulated below:
Age distribution of foster parents The Government has been promoting foster-family-friendly measures, including tax exemption for the incentive payments for foster parents. Starting from April 1, 2024, half of the incentive payments (including incentive payment for foster parents/foster parents (emergency) and various extra incentive payments) received under foster care service of the SWD are exempted from income calculation for the purpose of public rental housing application and Well-off Tenants Policies declaration.
To further strengthen support for foster care services and encourage more dedicated individuals to become foster parents, the Government has implemented a series of enhancement measures in recent years, including substantial increase of the incentive payment for foster parents from April 2024. The monthly incentive payment of ordinary foster care service has been increased more than double from around $5,000 to about $11,000; and that for emergency foster care service has been doubled from around $6,600 to about $13,000.Issued at HKT 12:25