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Family life education is a form of community education, both preventive and developmental in nature, intended to arouse the awareness of the public on the importance of family life. The main objectives are to prevent family and social problems, to promote harmonious human relationship and to help families function effectively. In Hong Kong, family life education is one of the major services rendered by the Social Welfare Department in conjunction with non-governmental organizations since 1979.
The public of Hong Kong first became aware of the need of the service in 1975 when a report on "Social Causes of Violent Crime Among Young Offenders in Hong Kong" was released by the Research Centre of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The report indicated that there was a close relationship between unfavourable family life and juvenile delinquency and hence recommended the provision of family life education to parents and young people as one of the preventive measures to the problem.
Following the recommendation of the report, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) began to make joint effort to provide family life education. The "Program Plan on Personal Social Work Among Young People" published in 1977 put up the proposal to provide family life education and recommended a systematic approach in the provision of the service to the public. The Preparatory Committee of Family Life Education was formed and the first family life education publicity campaign was launched in the same year.
In April 1979, the White Paper on "Social Welfare into 1980s" outlined Government's plan to expand family life education service and stated the role of Government and the voluntary sector in the provision of the service. It affirmed the policy of subsidizing NGOs to provide Family Life Education (FLE) Service at district level while the SWD was responsible for the overall planning, coordination and administration of the service, and the organization of territory-wide publicity campaigns on FLE. The Committee on FLE Publicity Campaign was later formed to launch territory-wide publicity campaigns biennially to promote public awareness on the importance of family life education and the concerned services.
To meet the needs of the society, SWD commissioned the University of Hong Kong to conduct a consultancy study on the review of family service in 2000. Subsequently, ¡§The Consultancy Report on Family Service Review¡¨ was completed in 2001. The study proposed the concept of ¡§one-stop¡¨ service to revamp family services and FLE was recommended to integrate with related services in order to enhance the effectiveness of the service. In accordance with the recommendation of the Consultancy Report, ¡§Integrated Family Service Centre¡¨ which provided one-stop service comprising preventive, supportive and remedial services was implemented on 1.4.2005. At present, the service of FLE is delivered to the public respectively through integrated family service centres and 17 FLE units.The basic philosophy in providing FLE Service arises from the recognition that family is the primary socializing agent through which an individual grows into adulthood, and that the integrity of the family has significant effect on the healthy development of individuals, both physically and mentally. A stable and progressive society is composed of such healthy and responsible individuals who are nurtured and brought up in happy families.
The rapid social changes in Hong Kong have greatly affected the structure and functions of families. In view of the increasing number of marriage breakdown, single parent families, and youth problems, it is considered necessary to put greater effort to help individuals and families adjust themselves in the wake of a rapidly developing community.
To enhance family functioning by helping the families fulfill the developmental tasks at different stages of the family life cycle, adapt to changes and cope with special needs and stresses.
To strengthen family relationship by enhancing family members' self-understanding, helping them foster harmonious relationships with different members in the family, and assisting them to fulfill their roles and responsibilities.
To prevent family breakdown by equipping individuals with the knowledge and skills in coping with changing roles and demands in life, and developing a proper attitude towards their responsibilities in family.
Apart from the above 5 principal target groups, FLE has also started to serve those people/family at risk to meet the needs of the society.
Two broad strategies are commonly employed in the delivery of FLE service in Hong Kong, namely promotional strategies and educational strategies.
The purpose of promotional strategies is to cultivate public awareness, to convey to the public "what is" and "why" there is family life education and to arouse their interest in the service through the mass media, promotional programmes and other means of publicity.
Educational strategies aim at helping individuals acquire knowledge and skill in handling family affairs and problems at different stages of the family life. These usually take the form of lectures, workshops, training courses, family camps and group activities.
The planning, coordination and implementation of Family Life Education Service are operating at both central and district levels through the following mechanism:
The District Coordinating Committees are established to coordinate services at district level and to serve as a link with the central level on matters relating to family and child welfare service including family life education. At present, there are 11 District Coordinating Committees formed in 11 SWD administrative districts.