Hong Kong community babysitters on government-funded scheme to get more than 3 times the training hours in wake of alleged abuse case

Training time to go up from 4 hours to 14, welfare official Charmaine Lee says, with those caring for children with special needs to get an extra 4 hours of teaching

But Lee says plans were drawn up before alleged assault by babysitter last week and operators had been told before the case was publicised

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Babysitters on a government-funded community nanny scheme are to get extra training in the wake of an alleged assault on a baby. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:48pm, 2 Feb 2024Updated: 10:04pm, 2 Feb 2024

The training time for Hong Kong’s community babysitters will more than triple from four hours to 14 in the wake of the arrest of a nanny for alleged abuse of a nine-month-old girl, welfare authorities have said.

But Charmaine Lee Pui-sze, the social welfare director, maintained on Friday that the extra requirement for nannies was planned before the baby suffered injuries.

She added the change was part of a wider plan focused on “strengthening the home-based child care service,” which was announced in last year’s policy address.

“We will enhance the training of community babysitters, not because of the [abuse] case, but part of the whole incentive with the increase of incentive payment and expansion of service,” Lee said.

(From left) Alex Wong, the deputy director of social welfare (services), Charmaine Lee, the director of social welfare, and Wong Yin-yee, the deputy director of social welfare (administration. Photo: Emily Hung

She added that operators of the services were informed of the changes well before the alleged assault was publicised.