SOCIAL WELFARE
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are assisted by a recurrent subvention from the government. The Institutions Liaison Unit of the department continued to advise and assist voluntary agencies operating in this field.
Women and girls in moral danger are assisted through counselling and guidance for the individual and her family, as well as through the relief of such immediate anxieties as care and accommodation for unmarried mothers, and through vocational training. Three reputable voluntary agencies, namely the Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the Po Leung Kuk and the Salvation Army, provide residential care for those in need. In addition the department provides training facilities at two
centres.
Rehabilitation
In the field of rehabilitation the aim of the department is to provide disabled people with the opportunity of becoming independent and productive members of the community. This generally involves three phases: treatment to help the disabled to adjust to their disabilities; vocational training to encourage them to make the fullest possible use of their residual skills; and their restoration to society through appropriate training or placement in remunerative employment. In order to cope with the expan- sion of rehabilitation services a separate division was formed on November 15, 1972. Rehabilitation services are provided at 17 centres and institutions run by the depart- ment and supplemented by the work of more than a dozen voluntary welfare agencies.
A delegation of 64 people from Hong Kong attended the 12th World Rehabilita- tion Congress held in Sydney in August 1972. Representatives from the Social Welfare, Medical, Education and Prisons Departments as well as representatives from the voluntary sector also attended four pre-congress seminars on the medical, education, social and vocational aspects of rehabilitation.
A Working Party was set up in 1972 to examine the future needs of the elderly. This working party will be submitting its recommendations to the government shortly. It is likely that in the social welfare field these recommendations will include the deve- lopment of a home help scheme, more old people's clubs and homes for the aged.
Probation and Correction
The probation and correctional services of the department are concerned with the supervision of offenders on probation, social enquiries for the courts, and the operation of correctional institutions.
At the end of the year, 2,700 people were under supervision on probation, and 7,159 social investigations were carried out at the request of the courts.
There are five correctional institutions catering for boys and girls of different age groups. The Castle Peak Boys' Home and the O Pui Shan Boys' Home are reformatory schools catering for boys aged between 14 and 16 in the former, and boys aged 14 and under in the latter. The Begonia Road Boys' Home is a combination of a remand home, a probation home and a place of refuge for boys. The Ma Tau Wei Girls'
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