SOCIAL WELFARE
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improvements although there have been problems in the recruitment and retention of teachers.
In addition to the work carried out by the Social Welfare Department, several subvented welfare agencies also provide services to help young offenders and young people with behavioural problems to reintegrate into the community.
Family Welfare
The Social Welfare Department and a number of subvented welfare agencies provide a variety of family and child care services with the objective of preserving and strengthening the family unit through helping individuals and families to solve their problems or to avoid them altogether.
The department operates a network of 31 family services centres and the subvented welfare sector operates a further 23 such centres. The major services provided in family services centres include: family casework and counselling; referrals for schooling, housing, employment and financial assistance; and care and protection of children and young people aged under 21.
After the setting up of the Wai On Home For Women in 1987, a second refuge for women, Harmony House, was opened. These two homes together provide short-term accommodation for 80 women and children who may be victims of domestic violence as well as for young girls at risk.
The department has continued its efforts, in co-operation with other government - departments, to tackle the problem of street sleeping. In response to the recommendations of an inter-departmental co-ordinating committee on street sleepers set up under the auspices of the Health and Welfare Branch, and with a grant of $2.3 million from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities (Limited), planning was put in hand to establish a second urban hostel for the homeless, including street sleepers, as part of a pilot scheme designed to provide more permanent accommodation for the homeless in the urban area. A temporary shelter and a day relief centre were established to provide temporary accommodation and relief services for street sleepers.
The department provides child care services through the Chuk Yuen Children's Reception Centre and the Sha Kok Children's Home for the temporary care of children aged up to eight. The Child Protection Services Unit caters for abused children. The Adoption Unit is responsible for local and overseas adoption of orphans, abandoned babies and children freed for adoption, while the Central Foster Care Unit promotes foster care services in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the Child Custody Services Unit was set up in October 1989 to carry out statutory duties in respect of supervision or care arising from custody and guardianship matters handled in Family Courts or the High Court.
Child care centres are available for children aged under six. Such centres must comply with the standards laid down in the Child Care Centres Ordinance and are subject to registration and inspection. At the end of the year, there were 30 013 places in day child care centres and 733 places in residential child care centres. Families with low incomes and a social need for children to attend a child care centre may apply to the Social Welfare Department for assistance in meeting fees charged. A total of 8 200 children were receiving fee assistance at the end of the year. To meet the changing needs of families, new modes of child care services were being tried out. Meanwhile, reviews were conducted of the financing and provision of the day nursery and day creche services.
Family life education aims to improve the quality of family life through the promotion of interpersonal relationships and social consciousness which may help to prevent family