HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1954
on the order of a competent court, they automatically become wards of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs and are registered as such. Legal authority for this work is derived from the Protection of Women and Juveniles Ordinance, 1951. The voluntary registration of adopted boys is also encouraged. The total number of children who are at present visited regularly by Children's Officers is about 4,000.
Moral Welfare
Some of the provisions of the Protection of Women and Juveniles Ordinance, 1951, are carried out by the Moral Welfare Section which was set up as a separate section of the Social Welfare Office in 1952 in order to give more specialized care to children in moral danger, juvenile prostitutes, and unmarried mothers. The Order of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, which established a home in Hong Kong in 1952, assists the Moral Welfare Officer in her task of helping young girls who have gone astray to return to a normal life. The home, which is run by this Order and can accom- modate 56 girls, is full, and a site has been allocated for a new building which will accommodate 100 girls.
A sub-committee appointed by the Social Welfare Advisory Committee is making a study of the problem of prostitution in the Colony.
Probation
The Juvenile Offenders Ordinance, 1933, set up juvenile courts and introduced probation as a form of treatment for young offenders, while the Industrial and Reformatory Schools Ordinance, 1933, made provision
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