SOCIAL WELFARE
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centres include: family casework and counselling; care and protection of children and young people aged under 21, and referrals for schooling, housing, employment and financial assistance.
The Wai On Home, run by the Social Welfare Department and Harmony House, run by the non-governmental sector, together provide short-term accommodation with 80 places for women and children who may be victims of domestic violence, and for young girls at risk.
The department continues its efforts to tackle the problem of street sleeping. It has set up outreaching teams dedicated to helping street sleepers. It also assists non-governmental welfare organisations to run temporary shelters, urban hostels and day relief service for street sleepers. The department is identifying suitable premises to set up more urban hostels for the homeless.
The department provides a wide range of child welfare services. 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. The Central Foster Care Unit promotes foster care services in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the Child Custody Service Unit carries out statutory duties in respect of supervision or care arising from custody and guardianship matters handled in Family Courts or the High Court. The Chuk Yuen Children's Reception Centre and the Sha Kok Children's Home provide for the temporary care of children aged up to eight.
In addition to the work carried out by the Social Welfare Department, subvented welfare agencies also provide residential child care services in children's homes, homes and hostels for boys and girls, foster care and small group homes.
Child care centres are available for children under the age of six. Such centres must comply with the standards laid down in the Child Care Centres Ordinance and Regulations. They are subject to registration and inspection. At the end of the year, there were 33 066 places in day child care centres and 629 places in residential child care centres. New modes of child care services are being tried out as experimental projects to meet the changing needs of families. Families with low incomes and with social need for children to attend a child care centre may apply to the Social Welfare Department for assistance in meeting nursery fees. A total of 8 047 children were receiving fee assistance at the end of the year. In October 1991, there was an improvement to the salary scale of child care workers.
Home help service, subvented by the government and operated by non-governmental organisations, provides meal services, personal care and household work service to those who need it. At the end of the year, there were 64 home help teams.
Family aide service, as a complement to casework service, is provided by four family services centres of the department and non-governmental organisations to develop clients' home management skills and child care techniques and to help families attain self-reliance.
The department operates a hotline service, answering enquiries and providing pro- fessional advice to the public on social welfare matters.
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 breakdowns and social problems. There are 59 family life education workers providing a wide range of family life education programmes in the territory. The 1990-91 Family Life Education Publicity Campaign continued its main theme Responsible Parenthood with