SOCIAL WELFARE
147
The Opportunities for Youth Scheme, administered by the Social Welfare Department, aims at encouraging young people to investigate and identify needs in the community and to propose and implement projects to meet these needs. During the year, a total of $233,561 was granted to youth groups to carry out about 87 community projects. In addition, the government provides financial assistance to various uniformed youth groups which manage a number of youth camps and hostels.
Through the establishment of direct contact with young people in places which they are known to frequent, outreaching social work provides an alternative approach in counsel- ling and guidance to young people who do not normally attend youth centres or participate in organised activities. The future development of this service is now being examined.
School social work service is available to all primary and secondary schools. Student guidance officers of the Education Department are based in primary schools to give guidance to pupils and to help them in solving their personal problems. Social workers in the Social Welfare Department and subvented welfare agencies visit secondary schools on certain days of the week to assist pupils in making maximum use of their educational opportunities and to provide counselling on individual problems. A review of the delivery of school social work service was completed during the year which recommended a number of improvements to the service.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation services in Hong Kong are aimed at integrating the disabled into the community. Services provided by government departments in this area therefore have the objective of enabling handicapped people to develop their physical, mental and social capabilities to the fullest extent. Rehabilitation services provided by the departments and welfare agencies are carefully co-ordinated by the Commissioner for Rehabilitation by means of an annual review of the Rehabilitation Programme Plan. The Social Welfare Department is responsible for the planning and development of a wide range of services for the disabled in order to meet their general welfare and social rehabilitation ñeeds either through direct service provision or subvention to welfare agencies. The Education Department is responsible for all aspects of the education and training of disabled children of school age and for boarding care and transport services in special schools. The Technical Education and Industrial Training Department co-ordinates vocational training for disabled young people and adults. Job placement for the deaf, the blind, the physically disabled, the ex-mentally ill and the mentally handicapped is the responsibility of the Selective Placement Service of the Labour Department.
The Social Welfare Department provides the handicapped with direct services including counselling, compassionate rehousing, financial assistance, technical and rehabilitation aids and day and residential care. It directly operates facilities including an integrated programme in a child care centre, a composite club for the handicapped, residential homes and hostels, work activity centres and sheltered workshops. The services provided by the 31 subvented agencies include (in addition to those provided by the department) pre-school care, education and training programmes, special child care centres, home help service, halfway houses for ex-mental patients, special transport schemes, sports, social and recreational programmes, sign language interpretation services and mobility and orienta- tion programmes for the blind.
By the end of the year, the Social Welfare Department and welfare agencies provided a total of 1 010 work activity places and 2 905 sheltered workshop places. These facilities provide employment for disabled adults unable to compete in the open job market.