SB Kamerman

Abstract

Given extensive demographic and social change, there is a search for new policy strategies for enhancing child and family well-being. Family policy, a holistic approach to evaluating social policies affecting children and their families, is one such strategy. Two illustrations of advanced industrialised countries with an explicit family policy are presented along with several new and innovative child and family policy initiatives launched in less developed countries. Together, these may offer possible components of a Hong Kong family policy. An explicit family policy may not be the answer to Hong Kong's concerns about child and family well-being, but making the conditions of children and their families more visible and identifying and assessing the policies affecting them, would help if one goal is to achieve greater policy coherence.

由於廣泛的人口和社會變化，人們開始尋找新的政策策略，以加強兒童和家庭幸福。家庭政策是其中一種全面的方法來評估社會政策對兒童及其家庭的影響。現有兩個有明確家庭政策的先進工業化國家的實例，並以數個在欠發達國家開展新的和創新的兒童和家庭政策同時作描述。總括而言，這些都可以為香港的家庭政策提供可能的元件。一個明確的家庭政策未必可以解決香港對兒童和家庭幸福的關注，但使兒童及其家庭的情況更為人所明白，並確定和評估影響他們的政策，將有助於實現更大程度的政策統一的目標。