In addition, about 30 million HK dollars(3.87 million U.S. dollars) will be allocated annually to strengthen family support, the source said.

The service has been developed by the Health, Welfare& Food Bureau to identify the needs of children up to five years and their families at an early stage.

The Integrated Family Service Centers' outreach services to hard-to-reach parents will be enhanced, to provide follow-up support for"at-risk cases".

The Commission on Poverty's Task Force on Children& Youth chairman Philemon Choi said on Thursday that implementation of the child development service is an important step in addressing the needs of pre-school children and their families from a preventive angle.

"It helps identify at-risk children and families, including low-income families and those from a disadvantaged background," he said.

At the task force's fourth meeting on Thursday, members also discussed initiatives to strengthen parenting support for disadvantaged and hard-to-reach parents.

Following a successful sharing session in December of last year, relevant bureaus and their advisory bodies have all agreed to give special consideration to the needs of high-need and high-risk parents in designing their parenting programs in the future. Enditem