Family Impact Assessment Checklist Tool

[FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual 2[FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

Contents Introduction 3 Part I- Understanding Family Impact Assessment 5 What is a family and family diversity? 5 What is policy and family policy? 10 What is family impact and family impact assessment? 12 Four basic dimensions of the Family Impact Assessment Checklist 18 Frequently Asked Questions 22

Part II- Applying Family Impact Assessment Checklist Tool 25 How do I identify and assess family impacts of a policy proposal? 28 Form A_ Family Impact Assessment Initial Screening 28 Form B_ Family Diversity and Contexts 36 Form C_ Family Impact Assessment Checklist 43 Form D_ Family Impact Assessment Summary 57 Family Impact Statement and Frequently Asked Questions 60

Part III- Procedures for applying family impact assessment 67 Checklist Tool on different types of policies a. New/revised policies or legislative proposal 68 involving public consultation b. New/revised policies ordinarily treated as confidential 69 in formulation c. Subsidiary legislative proposals involving primarily 69 technical amendments

Annex A- Family Impact Assessment Checklist Tool 74 Annex B- Examples on application of Family Impact Assessment 86 Annex C- Quiz- How much do you know about FIA? 118 Introduction

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1. This manual facilitates policymakers to know how to find answers to this question: “what is the possible impact of this policy on families?” when proposing a new policy initiative or a legislation.

2. First developed in the United States and Canada in the 1980s, Family Impact Assessment (FIA) promotes a specific checklist approach to analyze policies on families. This approach has been proven to be useful in identifying the potential impacts of public policies on families, including those positive and negative impacts, direct and indirect impacts, and intended and unintended consequences of policies.

3. Hong Kong policymakers, professionals and the public alike endorse the importance of families as the basis of a strong and vital society. With effect from 1 April 2013, the family implication assessment has been made mandatory in all policy papers submitted to the Executive Council and the Policy Committee, as well as Legislative Council briefs.

4. While the mandatory assessment of family implications has achieved its objective in fostering family awareness amongst bureaux and departments (B/Ds) in the policy making process, there is still room for a more systemic approach to assess family implications as the impacts of policy on families are not always obvious. The Central Policy Unit commissioned the research team at The University of Hong Kong to develop a FIA Checklist Tool to examine how policy may benefit families or produce unintended negative consequences. Through the use of the Checklist Tool to anticipate the positive and negative effects of policies on families, our government can ensure that new policies or legislation will in no way undermine families

3 4[FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

without carefully weighing their costs and benefits and will help strengthen families.

5. This manual elaborates the proposed FIA Checklist Tool for Hong Kong. With reference to the family impact guiding principles and checklist, which was originally developed by the Coalition of Family Organizations1 and the Family Impact Institute, and the family core values (i.e. “love and care”, “respect and responsibilities”, and “communication and harmony”) identified by the Family Council, the Consulting Team reviewed the principles in light of the diversity of contemporary families in local context. The Consulting Team conducted an extensive literature review of both local and overseas research on the application of FIA Checklist approach as well as interviews with local government officials to understand their experience of conducting family implication assessment, and updated the principles and questions of the FIA Checklist Tool accordingly.

6. For ease of reference, the principles are numbered but not rank-ordered. Depending on the issue, one principle may be more highly valued than another and not every principle will apply to every issue. The FIA Checklist Tool is not an instrument to criticize policies. The use of the Checklist Tool is to provide the policymakers with opportunities to mitigate potentially negative effects and maximize positive effects in the early stage of policy development.

1 Ooms, T., & Preister, S. (1998). A Strategy of strengthening families: Using family criteria in policy-making and program evaluation. Washington, DC: AAMFT Research and Education Foundation. 4 [FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

Part I- Understanding Family Impact Assessment

What is a family? 7. According to the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance (Cap.527) (the Ordinance), “immediate family member”, in relationship to a person, means “a person who is related to the person by blood, marriage, adoption or affinity.” The Family Council does not attempt to give a strict definition, but would continue to adopt a common sense understanding of the concept of family, which defined family with reference to relationships that pertain to or arise from blood, marriage, adoption or affinity, all of which are regulated by law or customs.2

8. The Consulting Team suggests no single and one-size-fits-all definition of a family that will suit all types of families in Hong Kong as families encompass a myriad of structures (e.g. cohabiting families, foster families and stepfamilies) and engage in multiple functions (e.g. caregiving and providing economic support). However, the absence of a single definition of a family does not mean that there should be no definition.

9. Two main ways of defining family can be categorized3 as:

a. Structural definitions that specify family membership according to certain characteristics such as blood relationship, legal marriage, adoption or

2 http://www.familycouncil.gov.hk/english/home/files/FC_Paper_1_2013_Family_Perspectives.p df 3 Bogenschneider, K. (2014). Family Policy Matters-How policymaking affects families and what professionals can do (3rd Edition). NY: Routledge.

affinity.

b. Functional definitions that specify functions that family members perform, such as sharing economic resources, and caring for the young, elderly, sick, or members with disabilities.

10.Both types of definitions have strengths and limitations. The Consulting Team would consider family as a socially recognized group (at least two people in a relationship, usually joined by blood, marriage or adoption) that forms an emotional connection involving care, responsibility and commitment. A sense of permanency (without time limit) is an important indicator of commitment. For the purpose of FIA, the meaning of family as adopted by the Family Council will be used, i.e. a common sense understanding of the concept of family, which defined family with reference to relationships that pertain to or arise from blood, marriage, adoption or affinity, all of which are regulated by law or customs.

11.The Consulting Team suggested that from a policy perspective, the preferred definition of a family will depend on the intent of a specific policy or program, the changes of family structures and social values. Policymakers can adjust and select the type of definitions to suit the goal of a specific policy or program as defining family is ultimately a question of values, assumptions and priorities.

12.In Case 1, cohabitee is regarded as a member of family as the intention of this Ordinance is aiming at strengthening family ability to manage crisis.

13.In Case 2, the CSSA system assumes that family members will look after each other and share resources in the same household. It also assumes that the applicant will responsibly use the CSSA for the benefit of the whole family. Under the system, the structural definition of family that specifies family membership according to residence is adopted. When considered in the context of specific benefit program, structural definitions seem more appropriate for some policy goals. While some negative consequences on families have been identified under current practice, mitigation measures are provided. For instance, though in policy an elderly person has to apply with their family members living together, if it can be established that the family cannot provide the necessary financial support to the elderly, it is up to the 7 8[FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

discretion of the Director of Social Welfare to grant approval to such application.

Different types of families

14.Public policies affecting individuals and community will impact families. Given the wealth of roles and functions performed by families today, Family Impact Assessment Checklist Tool facilitates policymakers to consider Hong Kong families in terms of their contemporary diversity and their dynamics.

15.Family diversity suggests that there are many types of families in terms of their structure (i.e. with or without children, single parent, blended family, old- old couples, and foster family) and their socio-economic, ethnic and local contexts. The implication of family diversity is that policymakers need to be aware of how policies affect different family types.

16.Family dynamics suggests that families are always changing. They may be at different stages in the life cycle; they may be going through transitions with the permanent or temporary addition or loss of family members, or a change in structure with a divorce or separation. Depending on their situation, families will have different needs and may be affected by policies in different ways. Family with dependent children, for instance, may differ considerably from families caring for older family members.

17.Regardless of differences in family structure and life-stage, families share certain key functions. The Consulting Team identified ten core functions including family formation, partnership relationships, economic support, childrearing, caregiving, reproduction, emotional support, provision of safety, education and socialization. 8 [FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

18.An important objective of assessing impacts of policies on families is to understand how policy affects the capacity of families to fulfill these core functions, and the extent to which policies have differential impacts on families according to their structure and life-stage.

What is policy?

19.Policy is a plan or course of action carried out through a law, rule, or other mechanism in the public or private sectors. Family Policy aims to protect, promote and strengthen families by addressing on or more of the five explicit functions families perform, including family formation, partner relationships, economic support, child rearing and caregiving. Many other policies that do not explicitly address families or family functions (e.g., housing, employment, poverty, healthcare) affect families in different ways. For instance, families are

rarely discussed in tertiary education policies. Yet it has implications for families with adult children and affects the function of family formation.

Different types of policy proposals

20.The Consulting Team identified three main types of policy proposals in our government system, including

 New/revised policies or legislative proposal involving public consultation4  New/revised policies ordinarily treated as confidential in formulation  Subsidiary legislative proposals involving primarily technical amendments

21.Different types of policy proposals involve different approaches to gather information about family impact. For instance, policy proposals involving public consultation will allow policymakers to collect views from families and stakeholders in the early stage of policy formulation (please refer to Part III for further elaboration).

22.With effect from 1 April 2013, the family implications assessment has been made mandatory in all types of policy proposals before submission to the Policy Committee and the Executive Council. B/Ds are required to state the family implications of proposed policy initiative and seek clearance from the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) before finalizing the policy papers.

23.Given the large number of public policies that could be assessed for their impact on families, applying family impact assessment across all policy

4 “Public Consultation” refers to consultation with the public in general terms and at least the policy deliberation is not considered to be confidential. Some public consultation may only involve specific stakeholders and some public consultation may only involve members of the Legislative Council. Legislative proposals are all considered to be non-confidential.

proposals holds two risks. First, policymakers might trivialize the family impact concept. Second, policymakers might become tired of conducting the family impact assessment. In combination, this does a disservice to the purpose of assessing unintended consequence of policies on families.

24.The Consulting Team proposed that the Home Affairs Bureau will serve as the key gatekeeper/quality control agent on family impact assessment in all types of policy proposals. As cost-effectiveness and political feasibility must also be taken into account in the assessment process, the Consulting Team suggested the use of Form A_ Family Impact Initial Screening and the option of applying exemption from conducting FIA on certain types of policy proposals, which is further elaborated in Part III.

What is Family Impact and Family Impact Assessment?

25.Family Impact refers to the probable effects of a policy or program on family stability, family relationships, families members’ ability to carry out their responsibilities.

Different types of policy impact

26.Policies can have different kinds of impacts on different types of families. First, they can have both positive and negative impacts.

27.In view of the increasing average waiting time, many families in the long waiting list will benefit from this policy as it helps free up units from relatively better-off tenants for re-allocation to those families who have greater need for

PRH. However, the “Well-off Tenants Policies” may induce negative impact on families. Members of PRH households may split from their existing households in order to maintain the family’s PRH tenancy without paying additional rent. This may involve giving grown-up children one reason to move out of PRH by removing their names from the household registration of the PRH tenants, while leaving their parents to stay in the PRH units. This may be inconsistent with the Government’s policy to encourage younger members of a family to look after their parents when they grow old.

28.Second, their impacts can be direct or indirect. In some cases, policies can have direct impacts on one type of family and indirect impacts on another type.

29.In Case 3, the direct impact of this policy on families with a household income exceeding the prescribed income limits is increasing their rental expenses and financial burden. If the policy in Case 3 is very effective in driving out rich tenants from PRH, the indirect impact would be creating additional demand for private rental housing and all families living in private rental housing may be affected as they may face a higher rent increase.

30.Third, policies can have intended and unintended consequences for families. While all policies are formulated with good intentions, one key purpose of FIA is to avoid or to reduce the possible impact of unintended consequeces.

31.Under the Low-income Working Family Allowance Scheme, which encourages self-reliance and reduces inter-generational poverty, single parents living with at least one child aged below 15 who works more

hours will be eligible for applying for higher allowance. The intended consequence is providing economic support for low-income families. However, the unintended negative consequence might be inducing childcare issue. The demand for child placement services may also increase.

32.Forth, the duration of the policy impacts on families is important to take into account since some impacts are one-off or short term and others are ongoing and long-term across a family life cycle.

33.In Case 5, the impact on families was one-off and short term. On 3 September, 2015, most employees would benefit from the proposal and could participate in various commemorative activities with their family. As the proposal was also applicable to foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) currently working in Hong Kong, the household support for some FDH employers could be affected by the additional holiday.

34.On the contrary, the impact on families in Case 6 is on-going and long-term. Five-day working week policy allows employees to spend more time with their family and facilitate employees to have a better balance between work and family in the long run.

35.Fifth, the scope of the policy impact on families is also crucial. Some impacts will be systemic affecting most families while others may have significant or severe effects on a small number of families. For instance, a policy to provide free early childhood education would have an impact on many families with infants whereas a change to the immigration criteria for family reunification would most likely have a policy impact on a relatively smaller number of families.

36.Family Impact Assessment (FIA) refers to a method of critically examining the probable future effects of a policy on family stability, family relationship, family engagement and family members’ ability to carry out their responsibilities. It facilitates the policymakers to adopt a family perspective in policymaking in order to analyze the consequences of any policy and determine its impact on family wellbeing, regardless of whether it is explicitly aimed at families.

37.There are many different types of impact assessments. FIA as a policy tool is primarily a priori in nature, i.e. assessment taken place before the implementation of policy. It is not the type of impact assessment that is used to evaluate or measure the actual impact of a policy after a period of implementation. FIA is best if, but not necessarily, evidenced-based, i.e. based on prior empirical evidence of similar prior policy experience or other research evidence on similar policies in other countries.

38.The Family Impact Assessment checklist approach is a first step in making an assessment of the impact of a public policy on families. Ideally it should be 14 [FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

used as early as possible in the policy process, preferably when policies are first being drafted and / or considered. The proposed checklist can be used to readily assess whether such policies are likely to have any family impacts and to identity what those impacts might be. Addressing the checklist questions is intended to raise policymakers’ awareness of the diversity of family and various family needs in a policy domain where they are not typically incorporated into policy decisions.

39.Using the proposed checklist can generate more family considerations and insights in the policy formulation process. Completing the checklist can reveal what family impacts are and what data are inaccurate or unavailable. It can also help policymakers to decide whether or not further consultation or impact analysis is needed.

40.The questions set out in the checklist could be used in all policies proposals. Keep in mind that not all principles and questions will apply to every topic, so it is important to select those most relevant to the issue. The decision about which principle(s) or question(s) to value more highly should be left to policymakers or key stakeholders. The intention of the checklist is not merely to tick box. It is a task of evaluating a policy against the set of family-centred questions, in order to improve the quality of policy proposal.

Four basic dimensions form the core of the Family Impact Assessment Checklist

Family Responsibility

41.Families are cornerstone of our society. To promote family well-being and self-sufficiency, policy and practice should support and empower the functions of families, such as family formation, economic support, childbearing, education, socialization, protection, and caregiving. For those caring for dependent, seriously ill, or frail family members, our Government should acknowledge the societal value and contribution of family caregivers.

Family Stability

42.Family stability is closely related to children’s health. Research5 suggested that family instability exposes children to negative developmental outcomes, and adversely affects children’s opportunities and resources to develop their full potential.

43.Policy and practice should support healthy marital, parental and family commitments, especially when children are involved. When changes or transitions occur such as divorce, loss of partner, onset of chronic illness etc., ongoing support to maintain family stability should be provided.

5 Bogenschneider, K. (2014). Family Policy Matters-How policymaking affects families and what professionals can do (3rd Edition). NY: Routledge. 16 [FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

Family Relationships

44.Healthy family relationships are essential to an individual’s emotion and personality development. The quality of family communication contributes to the development of family competence and resilience. It is also the key to prevent family members from having behavioral and mental health problems.

Family Engagement

45.To obtain families’ support of social policies and programs, policymakers should engage families, understand their various needs and incorporate family voices in the policy formulation process. This helps strengthen families’ sense of belonging and connection with the community. Through connecting families with both formal and informal resources, family self-efficacy can be strengthened and families’ ability of crisis management can be enhanced.

Frequently Asked Questions：

A. Should policymakers conduct family impact assessment in the formulation of family-specific policies only?

No. When public policy by definition impacts the lives of individuals, families, communities and society, the Checklist should be adopted. The use of Checklist Tool can facilitate policymakers to identify the significance of family impacts of policies and to mitigate potentially negative effects and maximize positive effects in the early stage of policy development.

B. Is the well-being of family a private matter?

No. Families are widely recognized as the basic building blocks of society. Families are the most effective and efficient way known for rearing the next generation, financially supporting its members and caring for those who cannot always care for themselves. Public policy creates the conditions whereby families can effectively and efficiently perform their functions and shapes the environment in which families operate. Therefore, our Government is responsible for keeping the family foundation strong and providing a better living environment for family development.

C. Should policymakers put family as a priority in policy formulation?

Yes. Family is the most significant factor for individual’s growth. Family responsibility, family stability, family relationships and family engagement are the key factors of strengthening the foundation of our society. Therefore, family’s well-being should be a priority in the policy making process. 20 [FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

D. Is it necessary to have a single, universal definition of family to implement Family Impact Assessment?

No. There is no single and universal definition of family that will suit all countries and cultures. From a policy perspective, how family is defined depends on the context and purpose, and may legitimately vary over time, across jurisdictions, among racial and ethnic groups and in different political and historical circumstances. Many family policy researchers agreed that there is no single and one-size-fits-all definition of a family and they are more concerned about what impacts of a policy on different types of families.

E. Is Family Impact Assessment an instrument to criticize policies and to reject policy proposals, which may bring negative consequence on families?

No. The aim of family impact assessment is to understand what the impact of a policy on families could be and not an instrument to criticize policies. The use of the Checklist Tool can provide the policymakers with opportunities to mitigate potentially negative effects and maximize positive effects in the early stage of policy development. The intent is not to end up supporting or opposing a policy or program. Instead, the goal is to raise considerations that policymakers may want to weigh and factor into policy and program design.

F. Different families have different needs. Should policymakers always put the

majority of families’ needs as priorities in the policy formulation process?

No. Families are diverse in nature. Policymakers should address the various needs of different families in policy formulation process.

G. Is the number of affected families the key indicator of the significance of the family impact?

No. Family impact can be felt in different ways, such as directly or indirectly, positively or negatively, intended or unintended and anticipated or unanticipated. Also, the number of vulnerable families is usually smaller than other types of families. Therefore, using the number of affected families to explain the significance of family impact is not appropriate.

H. The impact of a policy on families will be the same if the policy applies to everyone in the community. Is it right?

No. Small impacts will have a proportionately greater effect on disadvantaged families and families at risk. Different families also have different abilities to adapt to policy changes.

Part II- Applying Family Impact Assessment Checklist Tool

Objective 46.The objective of the FIA Checklist Tool is to introduce an explicit family 22 [FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

perspective to the policy making process and ensure that potential impacts on family responsibility, family stability, family relationships and family engagement are made explicit and recognized in the process of developing new policy. It helps to examine how policy may benefit families or produce unintended negative consequences. The use of the Checklist Tool can provide the policymakers with opportunities to mitigate potentially negative effects and maximize positive effects in the early stage of policy development.

What is the manual for?

47.This manual has been designed to be used by anyone who is working on any stage of a new policy proposal. Working through the manual should help assess the possible impacts of your policy proposal on families, identify how specific family types and particular family functions are affected, and draft a Family Impact Statement.

When does the Checklist need to be applied on assessing family impact?

48.All the public policies should be gone through family impact assessment. As impacts can be felt in different ways, such as directly or indirectly, positively or negatively, slight or substantial, short term or long term, intended or unintended, in most cases the indirect impacts and, in particular, unintended consequents of policy on families are not always obvious.

49.All new policy proposals or policy reviews should be gone through the Form A_ Family Impact Assessment Initial Screening to determine if there is any

doubt or impacts on family well-being and any needs to have further assessment.

Determine which family types might be affected 50.Having determined that the policy proposal under assessment potentially impacts families, the next step is to consider which family types might be affected through Form B_ Family Diversity and Contexts.

The Family Impact Assessment Checklist

51.The Form C_ Family Impact Assessment Checklist questions is to raise awareness of the four aspects of family responsibility, stability, relationships and engagement that public policy can impact, and generate insights through the process of addressing the 6 principles and 24 questions. The Checklist is designed to guide the policymakers to identify the potential impacts on these four aspects area, and to consider the significance of impacts as well as the types of impacts (i.e. positive or negative, direct or indirect, intended or unintended effects on families). Policymakers are encouraged to consider different research data or social contexts before making their judgment on the significance of the impacts.

52.The Form D_ Family Impact Assessment Summary is to remind the policymakers of going through the Checklist by considering different impacts on different types of families before drawing their conclusions.

The Family Impact Statement (FIS)

53.A Family Impact Statement helps inform the public about the impact of the proposed policies on families in the early stage of policy formulation. A Family 24 [FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

Impact Statement, which will range from a few sentences to a page, will be included on all policy papers submitted to the Policy Committee and the Executive Council and Legislative Council briefs.

How do I identify and assess the family impacts of a proposal?

54.The Family Impact Assessment Initial Screening-Form A comprises four questions, which can serve to build awareness and provide a framework for a preliminary assessment of how policies bring intended and unintended consequences for family well-being. Policy proponents are encouraged to review if the revised/new proposal affects the following four dimensions.

55.The following table provides a list of the major functions and the corresponding institutions and systems that share those family functions. The

list of corresponding institutions is not exclusive, but covers most institutions, programs and system. Changes of policies related to those corresponding institutions / programs/ system may have possible impacts on families.

Family functions Institutions, providers, services and systems Family formation: marriage, birth, Family formation, partnership adoption and divorce. relationships and reproduction: adoption service/ordinance, marriage law, Marriage and divorce counselling, family service programs, prenatal care, teen pregnancy programs, medical and health care, hospitals, family court.

Economic support: providing clothing, Economic support: food, shelter and other necessities, CSSA, Low Income Working Family through income, employment and other Allowance, Public Rental Housing, MPF, assets. transportation, workplace, banks, insurance, health benefits, pensions, employment.

Childrearing, caregiving, and Childrearing, caregiving, emotional emotional support: providing for the support: emotional and physical well-being and Child care services, neighborhood and safety of the sick, frail, and troubled community organizations, extended family, family members of all ages as well as marriage and family life education, respite affection, affirmation, intimacy and mutual care, clinics, counseling, healthcare, care. hospitals, elderly day care, home-based 26 [FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

health and social services, nursing homes and therapy.

Education and socialization: teaching Education and socialization: knowledge, competencies, socialization Kindergartens, schools, higher education, and life skills, enforcing appropriate job training, libraries, vocational education, behaviors, norms and rules, transmitting electronic media, community-based or social values and traditions, social place, clubs, ethnic groups, entertainment and leisure recreational facilities and television

Provision of safety: Provision of Safety: promoting good Courts, juvenile homes, laws, prisons, physical and psychological health, caring probation system, shelters, hospitals, for the sick and vulnerable. health care.

56.The following table provides a list of institutions, policies and systems that may affect family stability:

Family Stability Institutions and systems

a family’s ability to discharge caring Maternity and paternity leave, responsibilities for a child or other counselling, family crisis support, dependent family member effectively, when shelters, hospitals, marriage and divorce families undergo fundamental changes law, co-parenting programs, adoption and such as the birth of children, marriage, foster care services, child custody and fostering, adoption, bereavement, child support, family court, bereavement redundancy, the onset of long-term ill- services, services on cremation and burial health, couples at risk of separation, and of body, Compassionate Rehousing, one- families at risk of breakdown. way permit policy.

57.The following table provides different types of family relationships and a list of policies and systems that may affect family relationships:

Family Relationships Institutions and systems The list below is not exhaustive, but covers Family friendly workplace policy, most of the relationships at the heart of family life. intergenerational programs, family life education and counselling service, family  Couple relationships (including same- sex couples) including marriage, civil friendly recreational facilities, education, partnerships, co-habitation and those schools, transportation, work hours, living apart, together  Relationships in single parent economy structure, urban planning. families, including relation between the parent and children with a non- resident parent, and with extended family  Parent and step-parent to child relationships  Relationships with foster children, and adopted children  Sibling relationships

 Children’s relationship with their grandparents  Kinship carers  Extended families, particularly where they are playing a role in raising children or caring for older or disabled family members

58.The following table provides a list of policies and systems that may affect family engagement:

Family Engagement Institutions and systems

Family Engagement includes

 families’ connection with Ethnic, community, and religious groups community and programs, mutual aid committees,  fostering community inclusion and pedestrian first strategy, election of identity district /legislative council members,  families’ participation in social Community Care Fund, schools, parent- development teacher association, charitable

 support of vulnerable families (e.g. organizations, self-help groups. ethnic minorities, family with special needs, low-income families)?

Form A_ Family Impact Assessment Initial Screening

The Family Impact Assessment Initial Screening is consistent with the four dimensions of Family Impact Assessment Checklist. The four questions can serve to build awareness and provide a framework for a preliminary assessment of how policies bring intended and unintended consequences for family well-being.

Does the new/revised policy or legislation proposal No Yes, Uncertain, impact Possible not sure if on impact on there is any families/ families possible Not impact relevant 1 Family Responsibility:    affect families’ capacity to fulfill their functions: family formation, partnership relationships, economic support, childrearing, caregiving, reproduction, emotional support, provision of safety, education and socialization? 2 Family Stability:    affect families’ capacity to maintain a stable structure and fulfill their marital, parental and family commitments, especially when children are involved and changes or transitions occur, such as aging, adoption or parental separation?

3 Family Relationships:    affect work and family balance, family communication amongst members including couples, immediate family members and extended family members?

4 Family Engagement:    affect families’ connection with community, families’ participation in social development and support of vulnerable families (e.g. ethnic minorities, family with special needs, low-income families)?

If there is any check mark in boxes of “Yes” or “Uncertain”, Form B_ Family Diversity and Contexts and From C _Family Impact Assessment Checklist should be gone through.

 We would like to apply for exemption from conducting Family Impact Assessment on similar amendments to this particularly subsidiary legislation in the future. (Only for subsidiary legislations with no family impact identified in the initial screening.) Example 1:

In the proposal of “Recommendations of the Law Reform Commission Report on Child Custody and Access”6, all four dimensions would be affected, including the family responsibility, family stability, family relationship and family engagement.

Example 2:

In the proposal of “Deposit Protection Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2015”, which proposed switching the compensation determination approach under the Ordinance from a net basis to a gross basis, depositors will have quicker access to compensation payment in relation to the protected deposits and be assured of deposit compensation

6 http://www.gov.hk/en/residents/government/publication/consultation/docs/2016/Child.pdf

31 32[FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual in case the DPS is triggered. This Bill would bring some possible impact on family’s economic support function and so Family Responsibility would be checked.

Any check mark in boxes of “Yes” or “Uncertain”, Form B_ Family Diversity and Contexts and From C _Family Impact Assessment Checklist should be gone through.

Example 3: In the proposal of “United Nations Sanctions Ordinance (Chapter 537) United Nations Sanctions (Somalia) (Amendment) Regulation 2016”, the Consulting Team would suggest no family impact would be identified.

When no family impact is identified in Form A, policymakers can directly go to Family Impact Statement and report that there are no family impacts in the Family Impact Statement. It is not required to complete Form B, C and D.

59.Policies may have different effects on diverse family types. Family impact assessment should consider various aspects of diversity such as family structure (e.g. single parent family, step family, extended family), family life stage (e.g. families with young children or elderly dependents), family context (e.g. rural, urban, cultural, ethnic, presence of special needs, socioeconomic diversity).

60.Form B_ Family Diversity and Contexts presents various contexts and aspects of family diversity to consider. Does your policy proposal affect certain type(s) of families only? If yes, please check the boxes on Form B. You are still required to go through Form B even though you have original

ideas of what families may be affected under your proposal. It will help you further explore if there are any unintended consequences on other types of families.

61.For policy proposals that will affect all kinds of families, you are still required to go through Form B to explore if the family impacts are particularly significant for specific types of families. Keep in mind that small impacts will have a proportionately greater effect on disadvantaged families and families at risk. This is particularly true for financial impacts. Instead of checking all the boxes, you may indicate the specific types of families that might be significantly affected by the policy proposal on Form B.

Form B_ Family Diversity and Contexts Many policies aim at individuals will have a family impact. Impacts can be felt in different ways by different types of families or families of different stages. This tool helps policy-makers to stimulate thought about the diversity of family forms. It is important to capture this in FIA. You may check multiple options in the following table. Family Structures Family Life Cycle Stages Family Contexts  Couple only families  Forming couples  Low-income families

 Families with dependent children  New couples  Unemployed families with or without children  Single-parent families  Pregnancy  Families with children or adults with special needs  Step or blended families  With infants and preschoolers

 Families from different  Multigenerational families  With school age children cultural/ethnic and linguistic backgrounds  Foster families  With children in transition to adulthood  Families caring for a person with a  Older couple families disability or chronic ill health or of  Young adult transition and leaving frail old age home  Persons living alone with families elsewhere  Homeless families  Midlife adults with both young and old dependents  Couple who define themselves  Families in which parents have as family but currently living in mental health and substance different households  With elderly dependents abuse

 Cross-border families  Elderly with adult  Families with new arrival children/grandchildren members

 Caring for an ageing partner  Geographic (Rural/Suburban/ Urban)  Separation or loss of a partner  Families engaged in a specific type of 34 [FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

 Family with no economically occupation for their livelihood, including primary economy activities active person (e.g. fisheries, agriculture, etc.)

 Families living in a specific type of accommodation

 Families with doubly non- permanent resident children  Any types of families other than the above , please specify:

Glossary Family Structures: a.i.1. Couples only families: Families are formed by legally married couples or cohabitant partners. a.i.2. Families with dependent children ：Families with children who are dependent on the financial support and parental care of their parents. a.i.3. Single parent families：Families with children under age 18 headed by a parent who is widowed, separated or divorced, or by a parent who has never married. a.i.4. Step or blended families: A blended family, also called a step family, is a family unit where one or both parents have children from a previous relationship, but they have combined to form a new family. Blended families relationships include relationships with step-siblings, step-children and biological children. a.i.5. Multigenerational families: Families with children who are raised by grandparents or other extended family members, because biological parents are unable to do so for whatever reason. There are many reasons that a parent may be unwilling or unable to care for their child, including job allocation, death, incarceration, illness, substance abuse and financial

instability, etc. a.i.6. Foster families: A family that provides custody or guardianship for children whose parents are dead or unable to look after them. a.i.7. Older couple families: Couples only families and both members are aged 65 or over. a.i.8. Persons living alone with families elsewhere ： a person living by himself/herself and has family members living in other places. a.i.9. Couple who define themselves as family irrespective of they are married or not, but currently living in different households ： Couple or partners who define themselves as family but currently living in different households due to economic or housing factors, etc. a.i.10. Cross-border families: Cross-boundary families refer herein to those families with (a) at least one family member (either parent or any of the children) leading a cross-boundary life and (b) either the father, the mother or one of the children usually residing on the Mainland.

Family Life Cycle Stages: a.i.11. Forming couples： Partners are planning to form a new family. a.i.12. New couples: Couples or partners formed a family at the early stage. a.i.13. Pregnancy: Pregnancy begins when a family member is pregnant and ends when the baby is born. a.i.14. With infants and preschoolers: Families with children of age between 0-5. a.i.15. With school age children: Families with children of age between 6- 12.

a.i.16. With children in transition to adulthood: Families with a child of age between 13-18.

a.i.17. Young adult transition and leaving home: Families with an adult child who are moving out from original families due to going to university, work or marriage.

a.i.18. Midlife adults with both young and old dependents: a couple that is "sandwiched" between their children and their parents, trying to simultaneously raise young children and take care of aging parents.

a.i.19. With elderly dependents: Families with elderly who have experienced a deterioration of physical capacities due to advanced age and must rely on the support of family members to maintain daily living.

a.i.20. Elderly with adult children/grandchildren: Older couples with grandchildren or adult children who have formed their new families.

a.i.21. Caring for an ageing partner: Older couples only and one of them or both needs assistance of others to maintain a daily living due to a deterioration of physical capacities.

a.i.22. Separation or loss of a partner: Separation occurs due to marriage breakdown or death, etc.

a.i.23. Family with no economically active person: Families with no economically active member or no need to work for living due to retirement or physical declination.

Family Contexts:

a.i.24. Low-income families ： Low-income household was defined in accordance with the number of household members and referred to those with income less than half of the territory-wide median household income of the same household size.

a.i.25. Unemployed families with or without children: Families with members who are without work are actively seeking paid work (including families with children or without children).

a.i.26. Families with children or adults with special needs: Families with children or adults with special needs, including physical illness, learning difficulties, and behavioral or mental problems.

a.i.27. Families from different cultural/ethnic and linguistic backgrounds: Families are formed by non-Chinese members.

a.i.28. Families caring for a person with a disability or chronic ill health or of frail old age: Families are composed of members with disability, chronic illness or physical declination who are dependent on other family members’ support.

a.i.29. Homeless families: Families without a permanent dwelling, such as a house or apartment or a room.

a.i.30. Families in which parents have mental health and substance abuse: The main caregiver(s)/parent(s) in a family is/are struggling with mental health and substance abuse.

a.i.31. Families with new arrivals: Families with members who have been in Hong Kong less than 7 years.

a.i.32. Geographic (Rural/Suburban/Urban): Families living in rural /suburban/urban areas, including indigenous villagers in the New Territories- people descended through the male line from a person who was in 1898, before Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory was signed, a resident of an established village in the New Territories of Hong Kong. They have special rights to preserve their customs.

a.i.33. Families engaged in a specific type of occupation for their livelihood: families engaged in a particular business that supports their lives, including primary economy activities (e.g. fisheries and agriculture, etc.)

a.i.34. Families living in a specific type of accommodation: For example, families living in Public Rental Housing, private housing, or rental properties, etc.

a.i.35. Families with doubly non-permanent resident children: families with children who were born locally, and are receiving education and staying with relatives in Hong Kong but whose parents are non-permanent residents of Hong Kong.

Example 1

In the proposal of “Low income working family allowance”, the following types of families would be affected:

Couple only families Families with dependent children Single-parent families Step or blended families Multigenerational families Low-income families

Example 2 In the proposal of Disability Discrimination Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 5) Notice 2014, the Government proposed to use public resources to enable elderly persons aged 65 or above, as well as Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients aged below 65 with 100% disabilities and Disability Allowance (DA) recipients of the same age group to travel on designated public transport modes at a concessionary fare of $2 per trip on all days and at all times. The types of family being affected under this proposal would be:

Multigenerational families Older couple families With elderly dependents Elderly with adult children/grandchildren Caring for an ageing partner Family with no economically active person Families with children or adults with special needs Families caring for a person with a disability or chronic ill health or of frail old age Families in which parents have mental health and substance abuse

62.Using the Family Impact Assessment Checklist can generate conceptually rich and relevant policy insights. However, their effectiveness greatly depends on the attitude of the policymakers who conduct the assessment, the knowledge and sensitivity towards family diversity, and the information or research evidence available to the policymakers.

63.The following checklist will help identify any areas where your policy may affect families or a particular type of family. The proposed checklist has been divided into four dimensions of impacts- Family Responsibility, Family Stability, Family Relationships and Family Engagement. Each question is guiding you to be aware of different aspects under these four dimensions. For ease of reference, the principles are numbered but not rank-ordered. Depending on the issue, one principle may be more highly valued than another and not every principle will apply to every issue. Keep in mind that not all principles and questions will apply to every topic, so it is important to select

those most relevant to the issue.

64.You will need to gather some information about each of the impacts you have identified to assess the significance of the impacts:

 How these families (the types of families you have identified on Form B) will experience the impacts?

 What changes may the family (or families) experience as a result?

65.Assessing the significance of the impacts is not always easy or obvious, as there is no single method or equation that can be used. You may use the following approaches to assess the significance of family impacts, depending on the types of policy proposals (please refer to Part III):

 Conducting literature review of both qualitative and quantitative research to determine how likely it is that the impacts will occur. Policymakers may review the outcomes of similar policies that have been implemented in Hong Kong or internationally.

 Gauging the views of family experts or family service providers on family impacts of a proposed policy and how families may respond to the changes.

 Organizing public consultation to understand how the policy

may affect families or a particular type of families.

66.After gathering the information through the above approaches, you should be able to make a judgment on the significance of the impacts. The levels of impact include:

 No impact/ Not Relevant: No family impact can be identified.

 Slight Impact: When the impact on family responsibility, stability, relationship and engagement is minor and too small to be important for consideration. If the impacts are negative, those families who are affected are expected to be able to cope well with the changes. Family responsibility, stability, relationship and engagement is unlikely to be compromised.

 Some impact: For families that are affected, they may find it difficult to cope with the effects. Some parts of family responsibility, stability, relationship and engagement is likely to be compromised to a perceivable extent.

 Substantial Impact: For families that are impacted in a major way, they will find it difficult to cope with the changes and effects. Some parts of family responsibility, stability, relationship and engagement is likely to be compromised to a substantial extent.

67.Keep in mind that the goal of conducting family impact assessment is to identify unintended negative impacts on families and provide the policymakers with opportunities to mitigate potentially negative effects. You are required to investigate if there is any unintended negative consequence of the policy 42 [FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

proposal on families and list them on the Form C. In general, negative impacts would be those that are likely to have an adverse effect on families, such as

 reduced families’ disposable income;  reduced the value of families’ asset, savings or increased debts  reduced the provision or cost of supporting services and in-kind goods to families  increased family cost of living  decreased the incentives for families to access to educational resources for family members  affected the distribution or access to income, goods and services within the family  affected work-family balance;  increased health risks to families  affected the quality of parenting and childcare  reduced the adequacy or availability of housing  reduced the equity across families

68.If you have checked more than one box in Form B_ Family Diversity and Contexts, you may want to do cross-checking and ensure that you are assessing the impact on different types of families during the process.

[FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual

Form C_ Family Impact Assessment Checklist Dimension I: Family Responsibility

Principle 1: Supporting the functions of families (e.g. family formation, partnership relationship, economic support , child rearing and caregiving, reproduction, emotional support, provision of safety, education and socialization) Does the If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No Some Substantial new/revised policy or it is positive or negative and describe what types impact/ impact impact legislation proposal: and how these families will be affected Not relevant 1.1provide incentives  Positive impacts on families:    or support to  Negative impacts on families: couples to get married or Description of impact strengthen marital ______relationship? ______

1.2provide incentives  Positive impacts on families:    to give birth to,  Negative impacts on families: foster or adopt Description of impact children? ______

1.3 affect parental  Positive impacts on families:    competence and  Negative impacts on families: promote Description of impact 45

knowledge, skills ______and commitment ______necessary for ______raising children ______and youth? 1.4affect family’s  Positive impacts on families:    ability to provide  Negative impacts on families: education, Description of impact transmit culture, ______knowledge and ______values across ______generations? ______

1.5 affect the ability  Positive impacts on families:    to care for  Negative impacts on families: family members Description of impact with special ______needs (e.g. old ______age, physically ______or mentally ______disabled or chronically ill)? 1.6affect parent’s  Positive impacts on families:    and other family  Negative impacts on families: members’ ability to provide Description of impact economic support ______and to fulfill ______46

financial ______responsibility for ______dependent, older people and family with special needs including physically, mentally disabled or chronically ill?

1.7affect absent  Positive impacts on families:    parents’  Negative impacts on families: obligations to Description of impact provide financial ______support for their ______children? ______1.8affect the  Positive impacts on families:    prevalence of  Negative impacts on families: family violence Description of impact and protect the ______rights and safety ______of families and ______family members? ______

1.9 affect services  Positive impacts on families:    or supports for  Negative impacts on families: families? (e.g. Description of impact health, ______socialization, ______47

[FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual recreation, ______emotional support ______and caregiving )  48

Dimension II: Family Stability

Principle 2: Strengthening family integrity and stability

Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 1.4affect marital  Positive impacts on families:     commitment or  Negative impacts on families: parental obligations ? Description of impact ______

1.5affect families’  Positive impacts on families:     ability to maintain  Negative impacts on families: an adequate Description of impact standard of living? ______49

2.3 affect families’  Positive impacts on families:     ability to advance  Negative impacts on families: economically and Description of impact build family ______assets? ______

2.4 recognize that  Positive impacts on families:     major changes in  Negative impacts on families: family relationships or Description of impact families going ______through key ______transitions such ______as becoming ______parents, getting married, bereavement, unemployment, couple separation and divorce, the onset of a long- term health condition that require support and attention, in order to mitigate the impact on children in particular? 50

[FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual 51

Dimension III: Family Relationships

Principle 3: Promoting family harmony and better balance between work and family

Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 3.1 affect the time  Positive impacts on families:     that family  Negative impacts on families: members can Description of impact spend together? ______

3.2 affect family  Positive impacts on families:     competence and  Negative impacts on families: resilience including strong Description of impact communication ______skills, conflicts ______resolution ______strategies, ______relationship building skills and problem-solving abilities? 3.3 acknowledge  Positive impacts on families:     intergenerational  Negative impacts on families: 52

relationships Description of impact among family ______members? ______ 3.4 affect families’  Positive impacts on families:     ability to balance  Negative impacts on families: paid work and Description of impact family life? ______

Dimension IV- Family Engagement 53

Principle 4: Connecting families to the wider kin and community networks

Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 4.1 build on informal  Positive impacts on families:     social support  Negative impacts on families: networks (such as Description of impact community/neighb ______orhood ______organizations) ______that are essential ______to families’ lives? 4.2 take into account  Positive impacts on families:     the family’s need  Negative impacts on families: to coordinate the Description of impact multiple services ______they may require ______and integrate well ______with other ______programs and services that the families use? 4.3 respect, address  Positive impacts on families:     and balance the  Negative impacts on families: diversity of family Description of impact needs, values and ______behavior of ______54

families from ______diverse ______backgrounds and composition?

Principle 5: Encouraging families to participate in policy development, program planning and evaluation Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 5.1 consider the  Positive impacts on families:     importance of  Negative impacts on families: partnerships Description of impact between ______government ______agencies, ______communities and ______families in meeting the diverse needs of families and provide opportunities for families to participate in the development, implementation, delivery and evaluation of 55

policies ? 5.2 provide full  Positive impacts on families:     information and a  Negative impacts on families: range of choices Description of impact to families? ______

Principle 6: Supporting vulnerable families Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 6.1 gives support to  Positive impacts on families:     families who are  Negative impacts on families: vulnerable, Description of impact disadvantaged or ______at risk? ______

6.2 ensure the  Positive impacts on families:     accessibility and  Negative impacts on families: quality of Description of impact programs and ______services for ______culturally, ______economically, ______56

[FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual geographically, racially/ethnically, and religiously diverse families? 57

69.The design of Form D is to summarize the results of Form B and Form C. It helps you to obtain an overview of the family impact assessment results and explore mitigation measures if significant negative impacts are identified.

70.In some instances where significant negative impacts are identified, you may need to undertake some additional analysis and consider one of the following:

 Changing your policy measures to reduce the risk of inducing significant negative impacts;

 Including or enhancing additional measures as part of the proposal to mitigate and counteract the impacts on families;

 In some instances, it is difficult for you to estimate the unintended but possible negative consequence at the early stage of policy formulation, especially when there are gaps or inaccuracies exist in our knowledge or data about impacts. It is suggested that you can address the possible impacts in the Family Impact Statement and liaise with other departments to alert them to the likelihood of negative impacts occurring, where those impacts may affect the policy implementation. 58

Form D_ Family Impact Assessment Summary Please summarize the result of Form B and Form C in the following table.

Form B_ Diversity of Form C_ Family Impact Assessment Mitigation Measures Families Checklist: (e.g. measures mitigate the risk of Please state the positive/negative impacts significant negative impacts occurring or on families help counteract the impacts.) 59

[FAMILY IMPACT ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST TOOL]-The User Manual 71.By now you should have an understanding of the type of impacts that family may experience as a result of the proposal and how significant these impacts are likely to be. The information on Form D is the basis for the Family Impact Statement.

72.A Family Impact Statement (FIS) which will range from a few sentences to a page, including (but not limited to):

 A description of the impacts; linked to relevant area of impact (how proposal might affect family responsibility, family stability, family relationship and family engagement); and positive implications and possible unintended negative consequences;  A discussion of the types of families affected by the impact.  An assessment of how those families may experience the impacts (what change might the impact bring about, etc.) and how they might be able to deal with the changes or effects;  A discussion about the significance of the impact and any measures that have been introduced or enhanced to counter-balance the impacts.

73.As the impacts of each proposal will be different, there is no single template that can be used for this purpose. It is the policy proponent’s responsibility to ensure the content of the FIS is accurate, relevant and evidence-based.

Family Impact Statement Frequently Asked Questions:

A. When no impacts are identified in Form A, what do I include in the FIS?

When no family impact is identified, you can report that there are no family impacts in the FIS. However, many policies aimed at individuals will have a family impact, and impacts can be felt in different ways, such as directly or indirectly, positively or negatively, intended or unintended and anticipated or unanticipated. You are encouraged to capture this in assessment.

B. If there is no immediate impacts arising from the current proposal but I anticipate that the next stage of policy development process wil have impacts. What do I include in the FIS? You may state that

C. If the policy proposal includes a number of options. How do I present these in the FIS?

The FIS should include the family impacts of each option. With the limitation of time and length of paper, you may include a general statement of the common impacts on familes and provide a separate summary for each option focusing on its unique impacts.

D. The family impacts are discussed in the main policy paper. How do I draft the FIS?

If the impacts have been elaborated throughout the policy paper, the FIS can be used to summarize the impacts or could direct the reader to the paragraphs about family impacts. Any impacts that have not been considered in the paper (e.g. unintended negative consequences on families) should be addressed in the FIS.

E. If the policy paper is seeking continuation of a current policy, do I still need to assess the family impact?

Yes, unless Home Affairs Bureau has granted the blanket approval of exemption from conducting Family Impact Assessment on this particular policy. The best way to conduct the family impact assessment of a current policy is to look at any evidence supporting how successful the policy is, how it has been acknowledged in the community, who has opposed it and why, to determine what the effects on families might be.

F. Is the number of affected families the key indicator of the significance of the family impact?

No. Family impact can be felt in different ways, such as directly or indirectly, positively or negatively, intended or unintended and anticipated or unanticipated. Also, the number of vulnerable families is usually smaller than other types of families. Therefore, using the number of affected families to explain the significance of family impact is not appropriate.

Part III- Procedures for applying family impact assessment Checklist Tool on different types of policies 74.With effect from 1 April 2013, the family implications assessment has been made mandatory in all policy papers and Legislative Council briefs. All policy proposals were required to seek clearance from the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) on family implication assessment before submission to Policy Committee/ Executive Council. B/Ds are also encouraged to consult the Family Council on new policies, which may carry family implications.

75.The Consulting Team identified three main types of policy proposals under the current practice, which are

A.New/revised policies or legislative proposal involving public consultation7 B.New/revised policies ordinarily treated as confidential in formulation C.Subsidiary legislative proposals involving primarily technical amendments

76.In order to ensure assessment results are accurate, relevant and evidence- based, the Consulting Team suggested the following procedures to conduct Family Impact Assessment for the above three different types of policies:

A. New/revised policies or legislative proposal involving public consultation:

Steps:

During the Early Stage of Consultation (Diagram 1)

1) Complete Form A. 2) If possible impact or in doubt, conduct literature review on local and overseas research on possible family impact. 3) Complete Form B, Form C, Form D. 4) If any item may have substantial positive impact on families or at least some negative impact on families, should consult Family Council.

7 “Public Consultation” refers to consultation with the public in general terms and at least the policy deliberation is not considered to be confidential. Some public consultation may only involve specific stakeholders and some public consultation may only involve members of the Legislative Council. Legislative proposals are all considered to be non-confidential. 5) If any item may have some positive impact on families or slight negative impact on families, consider consulting Family Council.

In Public Engagement Process (Diagram 2)

6) Should include families that may have at least some positive impact or at least slight negative impact. 7) Should include individuals and NGOs having expertise or working with those families that may be affected.

A t Conclusion of Consultation

8) Complete Form A again. 9) If possible impact or in doubt, complete Form B, Form C, and Form D. 10) If any item may have at least slight negative impact on families, consider if mitigation measures are needed and applicable. 11) Complete Family Impact Statement. 12) If having consulted Family Council at earlier stage, and if any item may have at least some positive impact on families or at least slight negative impact on families, report to Family Council.

B. New/revised policies ordinarily treated as confidential in formulation (Diagram 3):

Steps:

1) Complete Form A. 2) If possible impact or in doubt, conduct literature review on local and overseas research on possible family impact. 3) Complete Form B, Form C, Form D. 4) If any item may have at least slight negative impact on families, consider if mitigation measures are needed and applicable. 5) Complete Family Impact Statement. 6) Seek clearance from the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) on family impact assessment

C. Subsidiary legislative proposals involving primarily technical amendments (Diagram 4):

Steps: 1) Complete Form A. 2) If possible impact or in doubt, conduct literature review on local and overseas research on possible family impact. 3) Complete Form B, Form C, Form D. 4) If any item may have at least slight negative impact on families, consider if mitigation measures are needed and applicable. 5) Complete Family Impact Statement. 6) Seek clearance from the Home Affairs Bureau (HAB) on family impact assessment. 7) For subsidiary legislations with no family impact identified in the initial screening, the responsible bureau or department could consider applying for exemption from conducting Family Impact Assessment on similar amendments to this particularly subsidiary legislation in the future. Diagram 1- At early stage of public consultation

Diagram 2- During and after public consultation Diagram 3- New/revised policies ordinarily treated as confidential in formulation Diagram 4- For subsidiary legislative proposals involving primarily technical amendment

Form A_ Family Impact Assessment Initial Screening

The Family Impact Assessment Initial Screening is consistent with the four dimensions of Family Impact Assessment Checklist. The four questions can serve to build awareness and provide a framework for a preliminary assessment of how policies bring intended and unintended consequences for family well-being.

Does the new/revised policy or legislation proposal No Yes, Uncertain, impact Possible not sure if on impact on there is any families/ families possible Not impact relevant 1 Family Responsibility:    affect families’ capacity to fulfill their functions: family formation, partnership relationships, economic support, childrearing, caregiving, reproduction, emotional support, provision of safety, education and socialization? 2 Family Stability:    affect families’ capacity to maintain a stable structure and fulfill their marital, parental and family commitments, especially when children are involved and changes or transitions occur, such as aging, adoption or parental separation?

3 Family Relationships:    affect work and family balance, family communication amongst members including couples, immediate family members and extended family members?

4 Family Engagement:    affect families’ connection with community, families’ participation in social development and support of vulnerable families (e.g. ethnic minorities, family with special needs, low-income families)?

If there is any check mark in boxes of “Yes” or “Uncertain”, Form B_ Family Diversity and Contexts and From C _Family Impact Assessment Checklist should be gone through.

 We would like to apply for exemption from conducting Family Impact Assessment on similar amendments to this particularly subsidiary legislation in the future. (Only for subsidiary legislations with no family impact identified in the initial screening.) Form B_ Family Diversity and Contexts Many policies aim at individuals will have a family impact. Impacts can be felt in different ways by different types of families or families of different stages. This tool helps policy-makers to stimulate thought about the diversity of family forms. It is important to capture this in FIA. You may check multiple options in the following table.

Family Structures Family Life Cycle Stages Family Contexts  Couple only families  Forming couples  Low-income families

 Families with dependent children  New couples  Unemployed families with or without children  Single-parent families  Pregnancy  Families with children or adults with special needs  Step or blended families  With infants and preschoolers

 Families from different  Multigenerational families  With school age children cultural/ethnic and linguistic backgrounds  Foster families  With children in transition to adulthood  Families caring for a person with a  Older couple families disability or chronic ill health or of  Young adult transition and leaving frail old age home  Persons living alone with families elsewhere  Homeless families  Midlife adults with both young and old dependents  Couple who define themselves  Families in which parents have as family but currently living in mental health and substance different households  With elderly dependents abuse

 Cross-border families  Elderly with adult  Families with new arrival children/grandchildren members

 Caring for an ageing partner  Geographic (Rural/Suburban/ Urban)  Separation or loss of a partner  Families engaged in a specific type of  Family with no economically occupation for their livelihood, active person including primary economy activities (e.g. fisheries, agriculture, etc.)

 Families with doubly non- permanent resident children  Any types of families other than the above , please specify: Form C_ Family Impact Assessment Checklist Dimension I: Family Responsibility

Principle 1: Supporting the functions of families (e.g. family formation, partnership relationship, economic support , child rearing and caregiving, reproduction, emotional support, provision of safety, education and socialization) Does the If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No Some Substantial new/revised policy or it is positive or negative and describe what types impact/ impact impact legislation proposal: and how these families will be affected Not relevant 1.1provide incentives  Positive impacts on families:    or support to  Negative impacts on families: couples to get married or Description of impact strengthen marital ______relationship? ______

1.2 provide  Positive impacts on families:    incentives to give  Negative impacts on families: birth to, foster or Description of impact adopt children? ______

1.3 affect parental  Positive impacts on families:    competence and  Negative impacts on families: promote Description of impact knowledge, skills ______and commitment ______necessary for ______raising children ______and youth? 1.4affect family’s  Positive impacts on families:   ability to provide  Negative impacts on families: education, Description of impact transmit culture, ______knowledge and ______values across ______generations? ______

1.5affect the ability to  Positive impacts on families:    care for family  Negative impacts on families: members with Description of impact special needs ______(e.g. old age, ______physically or ______mentally disabled ______or chronically ill)?

1.6affect parent’s  Positive impacts on families:    and other family  Negative impacts on families: members’ ability to provide Description of impact economic support ______and to fulfill ______financial ______responsibility for ______dependent, older people and family with special needs including physically, mentally disabled or chronically ill?

1.7affect absent  Positive impacts on families:    parents’  Negative impacts on families: obligations to Description of impact provide financial ______support for their ______children? ______1.8affect the  Positive impacts on families:    prevalence of  Negative impacts on families: family violence Description of impact and protect the ______rights and safety ______of families and ______family members? ______

1.9affect services or  Positive impacts on families:    supports for  Negative impacts on families: families? (e.g. Description of impact health, ______socialization, ______recreation, ______emotional support ______and caregiving ) 

Dimension II: Family Stability

Principle 2: Strengthening family integrity and stability Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 2.1affect marital  Positive impacts on families:     commitment or  Negative impacts on families: parental obligations ? Description of impact ______

2.2affect families’  Positive impacts on families:     ability to maintain  Negative impacts on families: an adequate Description of impact standard of living? ______

2.3 affect families’  Positive impacts on families:     ability to advance  Negative impacts on families: economically and Description of impact build family ______assets? ______

2.4 recognize that  Positive impacts on families:     major changes in  Negative impacts on families: family relationships or Description of impact families going ______through key ______transitions such ______as becoming ______parents, getting married, bereavement, unemployment, couple separation and divorce, the onset of a long- term health condition that require support and attention, in order to mitigate the impact on children in particular? Dimension III: Family Relationships Principle 3: Promoting family harmony and better balance between work and family

Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 3.1 affect the time  Positive impacts on families:     that family  Negative impacts on families: members can Description of impact spend together? ______

3.2 affect family  Positive impacts on families:     competence and  Negative impacts on families: resilience including strong Description of impact communication ______skills, conflicts ______resolution ______strategies, ______relationship building skills and problem-solving abilities? 3.3 acknowledge  Positive impacts on families:     intergenerational  Negative impacts on families: relationships among family Description of impact members? ______3.4 affect families’  Positive impacts on families:     ability to balance  Negative impacts on families: paid work and Description of impact family life? ______

Dimension IV- Family Engagement Principle 4: Connecting families to the wider kin and community networks

Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 4.1 build on informal  Positive impacts on families:     social support  Negative impacts on families: networks (such as Description of impact community/neighb ______orhood ______organizations) ______that are essential ______to families’ lives? 4.2 take into account  Positive impacts on families:     the family’s need  Negative impacts on families: to coordinate the Description of impact multiple services ______they may require ______and integrate well ______with other ______programs and services that the families use? 4.3 respect, address  Positive impacts on families:     and balance the  Negative impacts on families: diversity of family Description of impact needs, values and ______behavior of ______families from ______diverse ______backgrounds and composition?

Principle 5: Encouraging families to participate in policy development, program planning and evaluation

Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 5.1 consider the  Positive impacts on families:     importance of  Negative impacts on families: partnerships Description of impact between ______government ______agencies, ______communities and ______families in meeting the diverse needs of families and provide opportunities for families to participate in the development, implementation, delivery and evaluation of policies? 5.2 provide full  Positive impacts on families:     information and a  Negative impacts on families: range of choices Description of impact to families? ______

Principle 6: Supporting vulnerable families Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 6.1 gives support to  Positive impacts on families:     families who are  Negative impacts on families: vulnerable, Description of impact disadvantaged or ______at risk? ______6.2 ensure the  Positive impacts on families:     accessibility and  Negative impacts on families: quality of Description of impact programs and ______services for ______culturally, ______economically, ______geographically, racially/ethnically, and religiously diverse families? Form D_ Family Impact Assessment Summary Please summarize the result of Form B and Form C in the following table.

Form B_ Diversity of Form C_ Family Impact Assessment Mitigation Measures Families Checklist: (e.g. measures mitigate the risk of Please state the positive/negative impacts significant negative impacts occurring or on families help counteract the impacts.)

Annex B

Case Study 1: Policy on allowing PRH household members to apply for PRH8

Currently, a principal PRH tenant can split from his/her household and apply for another PRH unit. After the principal tenant has been allocated with another PRH unit, other authorised household members in the tenancy can be granted a new tenancy under the Grant of New Tenancy (GNT) policy, provided that they do not exceed the specified limits under the “Well-off Tenants Policies”. Other PRH household members can also split from the original household and apply for PRH through general family applications or the Quota and Points System (QPS).

Applicants currently living in PRH were already living in adequate and affordable housing should thus have relatively less pressing needs for another PRH unit when compared with applicants renting private accommodation (especially those living in sub-divided units).

Therefore, a frozen period (say one year) is proposed for general applicants currently living in PRH to reflect their relatively lower priority. For example, for general applicants currently living in PRH whose applications are registered on 1 January 2017, they will be regarded as having registered on 1 January 2018 when determining their priority of PRH allocation.

Form A_ Family Impact Assessment Initial Screening No Yes, Uncertain, impact Possibl not sure if on e there is any families/ impact possible Not on impact relevant families

8 PAPER NO. SHC 53/2016. Memorandum for the Subsidised Housing Committee of the Hong Kong Housing Authority Priorities of Demands for Public Rental Housing 1 Family Responsibility:    affect families’ capacity to fulfill their functions: family formation, partnership relationships, economic support, childrearing, caregiving, reproduction, emotional support, provision of safety, education and socialization? 2 Family Stability:    affect families’ capacity to maintain a stable structure and fulfill their marital, parental and family commitments, especially when children are involved and changes or transitions occur, such as aging, adoption or parental separation?

3 Family Relationships:    affect work and family balance, family communication amongst members including couples, immediate family members and extended family members?

4 Family Engagement:    affect families’ connection with community, families’ participation in social development and support of vulnerable families (e.g. ethnic minorities, family with special needs, low-income families)?

Form B_ Family Diversity and Contexts

Family Structures Family Life Cycle Stages Family Contexts  Couple only families Forming couples Low-income families

 Families with dependent New couples Unemployed families with children or without children  Single-parent families Pregnancy  Families with children or  Step or blended families With infants and adults with special needs preschoolers Multigenerational families  Families from different  With school age children cultural/ethnic and  Foster families linguistic backgrounds  With children in transition  Older couple families to adulthood  Families caring for a person with a disability or  Persons living alone with  Young adult transition chronic ill health or of frail families elsewhere and leaving home old age

 Couple who define  Midlife adults with both  Homeless families themselves as family but young and old currently living in dependents  Families in which parents different households have mental health and With elderly dependents substance abuse  Cross-border families  Elderly with adult  Families with new arrival children/grandchildren members

 Caring for an ageing partner  Geographic (Rural/Suburban/ Urban)  Separation or loss of a partner  Families engaged in a specific type of occupation  Family with no for their livelihood, economically active including primary economy person activities (e.g. fisheries, agriculture, etc.)

Families living in a specific type of accommodation

 Families with doubly non- permanent resident children Form C_ Family Impact Assessment Checklist Dimension I: Family Responsibility

Principle 1: Supporting the functions of families (e.g. family formation, partnership relationship, economic support , child rearing and caregiving, reproduction, emotional support, provision of safety, education and socialization) Does the new/revised If possible No impact/ Not relevant Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation impacts on Impact impact al impact proposal: families, please indicate if it is positive or negative and describe what types and how these families will be affected 1.1provide incentives or ☐ Positive     support to couples to impacts on get married or families: strengthen marital relationship? Negative impacts on families: Description of impact It is anticip ated that a frozen period of one year for gener al applic ants curren tly living in a PRH unit may delay or de- incenti vize coupl es to get marrie d soone r. 1.2 provide incentives to ☐ Positive     give birth to, foster or impacts on adopt children? families: Negative impacts on families: Description of impact If newly weds are currently living with an older generatio n (e.g. in- laws or parents) in a PRH unit, it is anticipate d that a frozen period of one year for general applicants may delay or de- incentiviz e couples to have children sooner.

1.3 affect parental  Positi     competence and ve promote knowledge, impacts on skills and families: commitment  Negat necessary for raising ive impacts children and youth? on families: Description of impact ______1.4affect family’s ability  Positi     to provide education, ve transmit culture, impacts on knowledge and families: values across  Negati generations ve impac ts on familie s: Description of impact ______

1.5 affect services or  Positi     supports for families? ve (e.g. health, impacts on socialization, families: recreation, emotional  Negat support and ive caregiving ) impacts on families: Description of impact ______

1.6 affect the ability to  Positi     care for family ve members with special impacts on needs (e.g. old age, families: physically or mentally  Negat disabled or ive chronically ill)? impacts on families: Description of impact ______1.7affect parent’s and  Positi     other family ve members’ ability to impacts provide economic on support and to fulfill families: financial  Negat responsibility for ive dependent, older impacts people and family on with special needs families: including physically, mentally disabled or Description chronically ill? of impact ______1.8affect absent  Positi     parents’ obligations ve to provide financial impacts on support for their families: children?  Negat ive impacts on families: Description of impact ______1.9 affect the  Positi     prevalence of ve impacts family violence and on protect the rights families: and safety of Negative families and family impacts on members? families: Description of impact In cases where interperso nal partner violence or child abuse occurred, timely interventi on is imperativ e in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of victims. In many cases, relocation and separatio n may be the best option. As such, delaying the processin g time for general applicants currently living in a PRH unit may adversely contribute to the incidence s of family violence. Dimension II: Family Stability Principle 2: Strengthening family integrity and stability

Does the If possible No impact/ Not relevant Slight Some Substanti new/revised policy impacts on Impact impact al impact or legislation families, please proposal: indicate if it is positive or negative and describe what types and how these families will be affected 2.1affect marital  Positive     commitment or impacts parental on obligations ? families: Negative impacts on families: Description of impact Delaying waiting period (e.g. a year) in processing general applicants of those currently living in a PRH unit may cause frustrations among couples seeking to establish their own households.

2.2affect families’  Positive     ability to maintain impacts on an adequate families: Negative standard of impacts on living? families: Description of impact: Delaying application period may adversely affect quality of life for family members living under the same roof, especially in instances of over- crowdedness (e.g. new born baby/ new daughter in-law, etc.) 2.3 affect families’  Positive     ability to advance impacts on economically and families: build family  Negative assets? impacts on families: Description of impact Delaying processing time for PRH unit may hinder young family’s ability to establish their own housing unit. On the other hand, it may also mean having more cash to be spared.

2.4 recognize that  Positive     major changes in impacts on family families: relationships or Negative families going impacts on through key families: transitions such as becoming Description of parents, getting impact married, In cases bereavement, where unemployment, parents with couple young separation and children divorce, the onset of a long- separate, it is term health likely that the condition that relationship require support between the and attention, in ex-husband order to mitigate and ex-wife the impact on may not be children in particular? ideal. Disagreemen ts and disputes may occur frequently and delaying one year for either tenant may create a tense living environment for the children.

Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 3.1 affect the time Positive impacts on families:     that family Negative impacts on families: members can Description of impact spend together? Delaying processing time by one year would mean that families have longer time to live under one roof thereby increasing their interactions. However, it may create additional tension and disputes.

3.2 affect family  Positive impacts on families:     competence and  Negative impacts on families: resilience including strong Description of impact communication ______skills, conflicts ______resolution ______strategies, ______relationship building skills and problem-solving abilities 3.3 acknowledge Positive impacts on families:     intergenerational Negative impacts on families: relationships among family Description of impact members Positive: A low priority given to general applicants currently living in a PRH unit may mean that continual intergenerational interactions and support are given within one household (e.g. elderly care) Negative: In circumstances where family disputes occur frequently, it is anticipated that a frozen period of one year for general applicants may further worsen family relationships.

3.4 affect families’  Positive impacts on families:     ability to balance  Negative impacts on families: paid work and Description of impact family life? ______

Dimension IV- Family Engagement

Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 4.1 build on informal  Positive impacts on families:     social support  Negative impacts on families: networks (such as Description of impact community/neighb ______orhood ______organizations) ______that are essential ______to families’ lives? 4.2 take into account  Positive impacts on families:     the family’s need  Negative impacts on families: to coordinate the Description of impact multiple services ______they may require ______and integrate well ______with other ______programs and services that the families use? 4.3 respect, address  Positive impacts on families:     and balance the  Negative impacts on families: diversity of family Description of impact needs, values and ______behavior of ______families from ______diverse ______backgrounds and composition?

Principle 5: Encouraging families to participate in policy development, program planning and evaluation Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 5.1 consider the  Positive impacts on families:     importance of  Negative impacts on families: partnerships Description of impact between ______government ______agencies, ______communities and ______families in meeting the diverse needs of families and provide opportunities for families to participate in the development, implementation, delivery and evaluation of policies ? 5.2 provide full  Positive impacts on families:     information and a  Negative impacts on families: range of choices Description of impact to families? ______

Principle 6: Supporting vulnerable families Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 6.1 give support to  Positive impacts on families:     families who are  Negative impacts on families: vulnerable, Description of impact disadvantaged or ______at risk? ______

6.2 ensure the  Positive impacts on families:     accessibility and  Negative impacts on families: quality of Description of impact programs and ______services for ______culturally, ______economically, ______geographically, racially/ethnically, and religiously diverse families?

Form D_ Family Impact Assessment Summary Please summarize the result of Form B and Form C in the following table. Form B_ Diversity of Form C_ Family Impact Assessment Checklist: Mitigation Measures Families Please state the positive/negative impacts on families (e.g. measures mitigate the risk of significant negative impacts occurring or help counteract the impacts.) Negative impacts: 1. Multigenerational families 1.1 It is anticipated that a frozen period of one year for general  Liaison with Social applicants currently living in a PRH unit may delay or de- Welfare Department to incentivize couples to get married sooner. 2. Forming couples alert them to the 3. New couples likelihood of these 1.2 If newly weds are currently living with an older generation negative impacts 4. Pregnancy (e.g. in-laws or parents) in a PRH unit, it is anticipated that a frozen period of one year for general applicants may delay or occurring and suggested 5. With infants and de-incentivize couples to have children sooner. preschoolers those affected families to seek help as needed. 6. With elderly 1.9In cases where interpersonal partner violence or child dependents abuse occurred, timely intervention is imperative in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of victims. In many cases,  Increase PRH supply or 7. Low-income families relocation and separation may be the best option. As such, Sale of HOS flats delaying the processing time for general applicants 8. Unemployed families with or currently living in a PRH unit may adversely contribute to without children the incidences of family violence.

9. Families living in a 2.1 Delaying waiting period (e.g. a year) in processing general specific type of applicants of those currently living in a PRH unit may cause accommodation (i.e. frustrations among couples seeking to establish their own households. public rental housing) 10.Families waiting for 2.2 Delaying application period may adversely affect quality of PRH life for family members living under the same roof, especially in instances of over-crowdedness (e.g. new born baby/ new daughter in-law, etc.)

2.3 Delaying processing time for PRH unit may hinder young family’s ability to establish their own housing unit.

2.4 In cases where parents with young children separate, it is likely that the relationship between the ex-husband and ex-wife may not be ideal. Disagreements and disputes may occur frequently and delaying one year for either tenant may create a tense living environment for the children.

3.1 Delaying processing time by one year would mean that families have longer time to live under one roof thereby increasing their interactions. However, it may create additional tension and disputes.

3.3 In circumstances where family disputes occur frequently, it is anticipated that a frozen period of one year for general applicants may further worsen family relationships.

Positive impacts: 3.3 A low priority given to general applicants currently living in a PRH unit may imply that continual intergenerational interactions and support are given within one household (e.g. elderly care).

Family Impact Statement

Case Study 2: Inland Revenue Ordinance (Chapter 112) INLAND REVENUE (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) BILL 2016 a) for salaries tax and tax under personal assessment with effect from the year of assessment 2016/17 –

(i) to increase the basic allowance and the single parent allowance both from $120,000 to $132,000 and the married person’s allowance from $240,000 to $264,000;

(ii) to increase the dependent parent/grandparent allowance and the additional dependent parent/grandparent allowance for each eligible parent/grandparent both from $40,000 to $46,000 (for aged 60 or above) and from $20,000 to $23,000 (for aged 55 or above but below 60); and

(iii) to raise the deduction ceiling for elderly residential care expenses for each eligible parent/grandparent from $80,000 to $92,000; and

(b) to reduce salaries tax, tax under personal assessment and profits tax for the year of assessment 2015/16 by 75%, subject to a ceiling of $20,000 per case.

112 Form A_ Family Impact Assessment Initial Screening No impact on Yes, Uncertain, families/ Possibl not sure if Not relevant e there is impact any on possible families impact 1 Family Responsibility:    affect families’ capacity to fulfill their functions: family formation, partnership relationships, economic support, childrearing, caregiving, reproduction, emotional support, provision of safety, education and socialization? 2 Family Stability:    affect families’ capacity to maintain a stable structure and fulfill their marital, parental and family commitments, especially when children are involved and changes or transitions occur, such as aging, adoption or parental separation?

3 Family Relationships:     affect work and family balance, family communication amongst members including couples,

113 immediate family members and extended family members?

4 Family Engagement:    affect families’ connection with community, families’ participation in social development and support of vulnerable families (e.g. ethnic minorities, family with special needs, low-income families)?

Form B_ Family Diversity and Contexts

Family Structures Family Life Cycle Stages Family Contexts Couple only families  Forming couples  Low-income families

 Families with  New couples  Unemployed families dependent children with or without children  Pregnancy Single-parent families  Families with children  With infants and or adults with special  Step or blended preschoolers needs families  With school age  Families from different Multigenerational children cultural/ethnic and families linguistic backgrounds  With children in  Foster families transition to adulthood Families caring for a person with a disability  Older couple families  Young adult transition or chronic ill health or and leaving home of frail old age  Persons living alone with families Midlife adults with both  Homeless families elsewhere young and old dependents  Families in which  Couple who define parents have mental themselves as With elderly dependents health and substance family but currently abuse 114 living in different Elderly with adult households children/grandchildren  Families with new arrival members  Cross-border Caring for an ageing families partner  Geographic  Separation or loss of a (Rural/Suburban/ partner Urban)

 Family with no  economically active Families engaged in a specific type of person occupation for their livelihood, including primary economy activities (e.g. fisheries, agriculture, etc.)

 Families with doubly non-permanent resident children

115 Form C_ Family Impact Assessment Checklist Dimension I: Family Responsibility

Principle 1: Supporting the functions of families (e.g. family formation, partnership relationship, economic support , child rearing and caregiving, reproduction, emotional support, provision of safety, education and socialization) Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No Some impact Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types impact/ al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected Not relevant 1.1provide incentives or  Positive impacts on families:    support to couples to  Negative impacts on families:  get married or strengthen marital Description of impact  relationship? ______

1.2 provide incentives to  Positive impacts on families:    give birth to, foster or  Negative impacts on families: adopt children? Description of impact ______

1.3 affect parental  Positive impacts on families:    competence and  Negative impacts on families: promote knowledge, Description of impact skills and ______commitment ______necessary for raising ______children and youth? ______1.4affect family’s ability  Positive impacts on families:    to provide education,  Negative impacts on families: transmit culture, Description of impact knowledge and ______values across ______generations

1.5 affect services or  Positive impacts on families:    supports for families?  Negative impacts on families: (e.g. health, Description of impact socialization, ______recreation, emotional ______support and ______caregiving ) ______

1.6 affect the ability to  Positive impacts on families:    care for family  Negative impacts on families: members with special Description of impact needs (e.g. old age, ______physically or mentally ______disabled or ______chronically ill)? ______1.7affect parent’s and  Positive impacts on families:    other family  Negative impacts on families: members’ ability to provide economic Description of impact support and to fulfill ______financial ______The proposed increases in the dependent responsibility for parent /grandparent allowances and deduction ceiling dependent, older for elderly residential care expenses will help people and family strengthen taxpayers’ capability to provide support for with special needs and foster care of elderly family members. Besides, the including physically, proposed increase in the basic allowance, single parent mentally disabled or allowance and married person’s allowance will also chronically ill? help relieve the financial burden of related families.

1.8enforce absent  Positive impacts on families:    parents’ obligations  Negative impacts on families: to provide financial Description of impact support for their ______children? ______1.9 affect the  Positive impacts on families:    prevalence of  Negative impacts on families: family violence and Description of impact protect the rights ______and safety of ______families and family ______members? ______Dimension II: Family Stability

Principle 2: Strengthening family integrity and stability

Does the If possible No impact/ Not relevant Slight Some Substantial new/revised policy impacts on Impact impact impact or legislation families, please proposal: indicate if it is positive or negative and describe what types and how these families will be affected 2.1affect marital  Positive     commitment or impacts on parental families: obligations ?  Negative impacts on families: Description of impact ______2.2affect families’  Positive     ability to maintain impacts on an adequate families:  Negative standard of impacts on living? families: Description of impact ______2.3 affect families’  Positive     ability to advance impacts on economically and families:  Negative build family impacts on assets? families: Description of impact ______2.4 recognize that  Positive     major changes in impacts on family families: relationships or  Negative families going impacts on through key families: transitions such as becoming Description of parents, getting impact married, ______bereavement, ______unemployment, ______couple ______separation and divorce, the ______onset of a long- ______term health ______condition that ___ require support and attention, in ______order to mitigate ______the impact on ______children in ______particular? ______

Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 3.1 affect the time Positive impacts on families:    that family Negative impacts on families: members can Description of impact spend together? By reducing some financial pressures could increase family time spent.

3.2 affect family  Positive impacts on families:     competence and  Negative impacts on families: resilience including strong Description of impact communication ______skills, conflicts ______resolution ______strategies, ______relationship building skills and

124 problem-solving abilities 3.3 acknowledge Positive impacts on families:     intergenerational  Negative impacts on families: relationships among family Description of impact members The proposal acknowledged intergenerational relationships and caregiving function among family. 3.4 affect families’  Positive impacts on families:     ability to balance  Negative impacts on families: paid work and Description of impact family life? ______

125 Dimension IV- Family Engagement

Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 4.1 build on informal  Positive impacts on families:     social support  Negative impacts on families: networks (such as Description of impact community/neighb ______orhood ______organizations) ______that are essential ______to families’ lives? 4.2 take into account  Positive impacts on families:     the family’s need  Negative impacts on families: to coordinate the Description of impact multiple services ______they may require ______and integrate well ______with other ______programs and

126 services that the families use? 4.3 respect, address  Positive impacts on families:     and balance the  Negative impacts on families: diversity of family Description of impact needs, values and ______behavior of ______families from ______diverse ______backgrounds and composition?

Principle 5: Encouraging families to participate in policy development, program planning and evaluation Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 5.1 consider the  Positive impacts on families:     importance of  Negative impacts on families: partnerships Description of impact between ______government ______agencies, ______communities and ______families in meeting the

127 diverse needs of families and provide opportunities for families to participate in the development, implementation, delivery and evaluation of policies ? 5.2 provide full  Positive impacts on families:     information and a  Negative impacts on families: range of choices Description of impact to families? ______Principle 6: Supporting vulnerable families Does the new/revised If possible impacts on families, please indicate if No impact/ Slight Some Substanti policy or legislation it is positive or negative and describe what types Not Impact impact al impact proposal: and how these families will be affected relevant 6.1 give support to  Positive impacts on families:     families who are  Negative impacts on families: vulnerable, Description of impact ______

128 disadvantaged or ______at risk? ______6.2 ensure the  Positive impacts on families:     accessibility and  Negative impacts on families: quality of Description of impact programs and ______services for ______culturally, ______economically, ______geographically, racially/ethnically, and religiously diverse families?

Form D_ Family Impact Assessment Summary Please summarize the result of Form B and Form C in the following table. Form B_ Diversity of Families Form C_ Family Impact Assessment Checklist: Mitigation Measures Please state the positive/negative impacts on (e.g. measures mitigate the families risk of significant negative impacts occurring or help counteract the impacts.) Positive Impacts:  Couple only family 1.7 The proposed increases in the dependent  Single parent family parent /grandparent allowances and deduction N.A

129  Multigenerational family ceiling for elderly residential care expenses will  New couples help strengthen taxpayers’ capability to provide  Midlife adults with both young support for and foster care of elderly family and old dependents members. Besides, the proposed increase in the  With elderly dependents  Elderly with adult basic allowance, single parent allowance and children/grandchildren married person’s allowance will also help relieve  Caring for an ageing partner the financial burden of related families.  Families caring for a person with a disability or chronic ill health or 3.1 By reducing some financial pressures could of frail old age increase family time spent. 3.3 The proposal acknowledged intergenerational relationships and caregiving function among family.

130 Family Impact Statement

Annex C Quiz: How much do you know about FIA? Please go to fia.socialwork.hku.hk to conduct this test and check your marks.

1. As social policies shape the context in which families live, policymakers of different bureaux and departments should make concerted efforts to create a better living environment for families. Four key dimensions of building a better living environment for families are identified. Which of the following is not one of the four dimensions?

 Family Responsibility  Family Stability  Family Well-being  Family Relationships  Family Engagement

2. Which of the following refers to family responsibility and functions?

 Take care of your partner  Protect your family members  Educate your children  All of the above

3. Under the existing Housing Subsidy Policy, adult children are

131 encouraged to move out as their earned income will be added to the calculation of total household income and subsequently their parents may have to pay higher rent. Which of the following aspect is affected?

 Family Responsibility  Family Stability  Family Relationships  Family Engagement

4. If the Government invites different families to share their views on the quality and choices of TV programs before making the decision on free TV licence applications, what impact will it bring to our society?

 Reinforcing family functioning  Maintaining family stability  Enhancing family relationships  Strengthening family engagement

5. Which of the following our Government is trying to promote through the provision of dependent parent/grandparent allowance?

 Reinforcing family functioning  Maintaining family stability  Enhancing family relationships  Strengthening family engagement

6. The introduction of a fixed penalty system as an additional legal tool to tackle the problem of shop front extensions in order to improve the safety and access of pedestrians. Which type(s) of the following families will be benefited from this policy?

 Families with infants  Families with members on wheelchairs  Families with difficulty walking elderly  All of the above

7. Which of the following is/are regarded as a family?

 A same-sex couple who forms an emotional connection involving

132 care, sharing economic resources, responsibility and commitment.  A senior living alone with family members living in Mainland China  A couple who define themselves as family irrespective of they are married or not, but currently living in different households.  All of the above

8. Impacts of social policies on families can be felt in different ways by different types of families or families of different stages. At which stage of a family will be affected immediately if the government increases child allowance under salary tax?

 Pregnancy  Families with school age children  Families with independent young adults  Family with no economically active person

9. There are five parts of the Family Impact Assessment Checklist Tool. Which part should be gone through as the first step in the formulation process of every new policy?

 Family Impact Statement  Family Impact Assessment Initial Screening（Form A)  Family Diversity and Contexts （Form B)  Family Impact Assessment Checklist （Form C)  Family Impact Assessment Summary （Form D)

10. What of the following approach can be used for gathering information about family impacts?

 Literature review  Consulting with service providers, families and professionals  Consulting with the Family Council  All of the above

11. Through the use of the FIA Checklist Tool, family impacts can be categorized into :

 No impact - Slight impact - Some impact - Substantial impact

133  Direct impact - Indirect impact  Short-term impact - Long-term Impact  Positive impact - Negative Impact  All of the above

12.What is Family Impact Statement

 The intended impact of a policy on families  Summary of feedback on a particular policy from families  A summary description of the possible impacts of a policy on families  A study plan about how to gather information on family impacts

11﹣ 12 points- Congratulations! You have displayed an excellent understanding of Family Impact Assessment. Please support our Study and give us feedback if any.

9﹣ 10 points ﹣ You have good understanding about Family Impact Assessment concepts and the checklist tool. Don't hesitate to send us questions if you need further information.

7﹣ 8 points ﹣ You have some basic knowledge about Family Impact Assessment . Please read our website or send us questions if you need further information.

7 points or below﹣ You are advised to have a better understanding about Family Impact Assessment. Please read our website or send us questions if you need further information.

134 The Consulting Team, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong

Members :

Dr. Chi Kwong Law (Principal Investigator)

Prof. Paul Siu Fai Yip Dr. Amos Chuen Yih Cheung Dr. Mao Sheng Ran Dr. Cheryl Hiu Kwan Chui Dr. Vivian Wen Qun Lou Dr. Lucy Porter Jordan Ms. Queenie Kwun Ying Yuen Ms. Jo Tsui Shan Wong

Tel: 3917 7313 Email: [email protected] Website: fia.socialwork.hku.hk