Report of Further Study on the Long Term Development of Child Development Fund Project Participants released

     The Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB) today (March 31) released the report of the Further Study on the Long Term Development of Child Development Fund (CDF) Project Participants. It revealed that projects launched by the CDF were effective in developing a positive learning and working attitude for grassroots children and youths in the long run as well as significantly improving their social skills, problem-solving abilities, resource management and future planning. Persistent savings habits were also developed, which had positive impacts on the alleviation of inter-generational poverty.
 
     In January 2018, the LWB commissioned the Department of Applied Social Sciences of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to conduct the above study to evaluate the effectiveness of the CDF projects. The study's findings showed that each of the three key components of the CDF projects, namely personal development plans, mentorship programmes and targeted savings, is highly complementary to each other and has a unique long-term impact on the participants. All components are essential to the projects. The CDF participants performed significantly better than non-participants in a number of areas:
 

• The CDF participants (80.8 per cent) were more likely to have a savings habit than the non-participants (56.3 per cent), such that most participants maintained the habit after project completion. Working participants saved $2,836 per month on average, which was substantially more than that of the non-participants ($1,623 per month on average);
• The CDF participants attained higher education levels than the non-participants. Of them, 83.8 per cent of working participants had attained a sub-degree course or above, which is more than that among working non-participants (67.6 per cent);
• More working CDF participants had obtained professional qualifications and skills. Of them, 26.6 per cent had obtained professional qualifications including registered nurse, social worker, surveyor and teacher, compared to only 9.1 per cent among working non-participants. Of working participants, 22.6 per cent had obtained other skills in areas such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), arts, sports, music and leadership, compared to 13.0 per cent among working non-participants;
• The CDF participants received higher levels of social support;
• The CDF participants had better mental health, with fewer emotional symptoms, conduct problems and peer problems;
• The working CDF participants (73.4 per cent) had more interest in their current job than the non-participants (38.8 per cent) and earned more. Of them, 45.9 per cent of participants earned $15,000 or above per month, compared to only 25.4 per cent among the non-participants; and
• More families of working CDF participants (93.5 per cent) did not require any financial assistance under the Social Welfare Department, compared to 75.3 per cent among the non-participants. The study revealed that the CDF projects had positive impacts on the alleviation of inter-generational poverty.

 
     Detailed findings of the study are set out in the full report which has been uploaded to the CDF's website (www.cdf.gov.hk).
 
     Since its establishment in 2008, the CDF has been facilitating the longer-term development of disadvantaged children and youths with a view to alleviating inter-generational poverty. So far, the CDF has received funding of $900 million. A total of 207 projects in 13 batches have been launched, benefiting more than 18 000 children and youths.