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福社
新會
Social Welfare
HONG KONG'S Social welfare programme continued to expand during the year with a housing scheme for the elderly, expansion of family welfare services, and additional purpose-built facilities being provided.
A highlight of 1983 was the official opening by the Governor in September of the first phase of the government's Housing Scheme for the Elderly. This pilot scheme provides self-contained accommodation for groups of five or six elderly people who are still able to live independently in the community. The 80 flats purchased in a private housing development in Sha Tin early in 1983 were accommodating a total of 480 old people by the end of the year. The capital costs are financed from the sales of gold coins issued by the government each Lunar New Year.
The Social Welfare Department is responsible for the management of the scheme and generally supervising the welfare of the residents. All flats are fully fitted-out and furnished, with a full range of utilities and a telephone provided. Residents pay a fixed monthly fee which is intended to cover the cost of maintenance and utilities. A further 23 flats have been purchased on Hong Kong Island which will be ready for occupation in 1984. If the pilot scheme is successful, and subject to the availability of further funds, the scheme may be extended.
Another area which saw significant development in 1983 was that of family welfare services, specifically in the field of child care. To provide further impetus to the expansion of non-institutional forms of residential care for children, the Social Welfare Department set up a central unit for co-ordinating the planning and development of foster care services. The unit is responsible for publicising the service; recruitment and preliminary screening of potential foster parents; registration of foster families found to be suitable; and the development of guidelines for foster care arrangements. The unit is working closely with voluntary agencies who have expertise in this area and who are responsible for the actual supervision of foster placements.
For handling cases of suspected child abuse, the department has set up a child protective services unit to ensure that serious cases of abuse are handled by experienced social workers. The Health and Welfare Branch of the Government Secretariat has also reviewed the procedures for handling child abuse cases by government departments and voluntary agencies including reporting and follow-up procedures.
In the field of social security, the rates of payment from the Emergency Relief Fund were increased with effect from July 1983. Payments made under other schemes the Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Scheme and the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme - which are also assessed on the basis of this payment schedule, were increased from the same date.
Expansion of social welfare services continued in line with the targets laid down in the 1979 White Paper on Social Welfare into the 1980s and the 1979 White Paper on
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