SWD Honors Over 200 Foster Families for Dedication at 2026 Award Ceremony

SWD commends over 200 foster families for lighting up children's hearts with love

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) held the Foster Families Service Award Presentation Ceremony 2026 today (May 17) to commend over 200 foster families and recognise their years of dedicated contributions and love in caring for foster children, enabling them to grow up in a safe, stable and nurturing family environment.

The SWD's Central Foster Care Unit has long been committed to overseeing and co-ordinating the provision of foster care service by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and is now approaching the significant milestone of its 45th anniversary. Under the theme "On Wings of Love We Soar Above: Towards 45 Flourishing Years", the ceremony was officiated by the Director of Social Welfare, Mr Edward To, with the participation of about 680 guests, including foster parents, foster children and representatives from 11 NGOs providing foster care service. At the ceremony, 22 foster parents received long-service awards for over 25 years of service, two of whom were specifically recognised for serving over 30 years and being role models in lighting up the hearts of countless children with their love; while nearly 180 families received awards for long service periods ranging from five to 20 years.

Addressing the ceremony, Mr To said that foster care service aims at providing family-like care for children whose parents cannot provide proper care for them due to family problems. The children can therefore continue to enjoy family life until they can be reunited with their families or when other long-term welfare plans are arranged for them. Thanks to all foster parents who willingly open their doors to provide care service with love and patience, foster children are able to grow up healthily in a warm and protective family setting.

Mr To further remarked that every foster family itself is a touching storybook - some parents who initially intended to provide short-term emergency care have been serving for over 30 years, rendering protection and shelter to needy children; and there are also parents who strived to provide foster children with a happy childhood despite their own busy schedules, protecting children's well-being with love. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude to all foster parents for their selfless love that transcends blood ties. Such years-long dedication not only injects warmth and positive energy into children's lives, it also lights up their hearts, empowering them to soar with love.

Mr To also extended sincere thanks to the 11 NGOs operating foster care service for their unwavering support in sustaining the service toward its fruitful 45th anniversary.

With a view to strengthening support for foster care service and encouraging more dedicated individuals to become foster parents, the SWD has implemented a series of enhancement measures in recent years, including the substantial increase of the incentive payment for foster parents starting from April 2024; allocating additional resources to enhance training for foster parents and to provide extra support for foster children with special needs since 2025. Currently, there are about 1 120 foster families in Hong Kong. Members of the public who are interested in joining foster care service are welcome to contact the SWD's Central Foster Care Unit at 2573 2282.

SWD commends over 200 foster families for lighting up children's hearts with love Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SWD commends over 200 foster families for lighting up children's hearts with love Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SWD commends over 200 foster families for lighting up children's hearts with love Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SWD commends over 200 foster families for lighting up children's hearts with love Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Applications for allowing dogs to enter permitted food premises to commence tomorrow

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) will start accepting applications from restaurants tomorrow (May 18) for allowing dogs to enter their premises. It is expected that the permitted food premises could welcome their customers with dogs within July. The application process is simple. Restaurants interested in applying for the dog-admission permission may submit their applications, starting from 10am tomorrow, electronically through the FEHD's dedicated webpage (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/licensing/dog_restaurants/index.html). The application period will be ended on June 8.

A quota of not more than 1 000 restaurants is set for the first phase of application. If more than 1 000 applications are received, allocation will be made by balloting. For safety considerations, applications from hotpot restaurants and barbecue restaurants (including teppanyaki and Korean barbecue) will not be accepted, and only applications from restaurants with an area larger than 20 square metres will be considered. Apart from the above restrictions, all restaurants with a full licence may apply for the dog-admission permission.

The first batch of permission is expected to be granted in mid-June. To allow sufficient time for operational preparation by the trade, the FEHD will specify a date in July from which dogs will be allowed to enter permitted food premises. The exact date will be announced in due course. No person shall bring any dog onto any food premises prior to that date (except for guide dogs and working dogs).

To assist the catering trade in understanding the application requirements in advance, and get prepared for the upcoming implementation of the new measures, the FEHD held three briefing sessions for the trade from May 11 to 13. Representatives of the FEHD have set out relevant application procedures, eligibility criteria, licensing conditions and matters that require restaurant operators' attention. In addition, representatives of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Institute of Shopping Centre Management, and the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, were invited to share with trade members knowledge on interacting with animals, experience in managing pet-friendly malls and matters requiring attention in relation to insurance.

More than 360 members from the catering sector attended the three briefing sessions, and over 4 600 viewers watched the live broadcasts via the FEHD's Facebook page. The briefings received an enthusiastic response. Representatives of the FEHD also answered questions from attendees at the question-and-answer sessions. The department will hold the fourth briefing session for the trade on May 28. Restaurant operators who are unable to attend in person and other interested parties may watch the live broadcast via the FEHD's Facebook page from 2.30pm to 5pm on the day of the briefing session, which will later be uploaded to the FEHD's dedicated webpage.

Information on allowing dogs to enter permitted restaurants, including licence conditions and frequently asked questions has been uploaded to the FEHD's dedicated webpage. The FEHD will also release a set of Guidelines of Good Practice and Behaviour later, for reference by restaurant operators and members of the public. The FEHD has set up two dedicated hotlines (2867 5912 and 2867 2836), through which enquiries about the applications can be made from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).

Source: AI-found images