SOCIAL WELFARE
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needs of the residents. Educational, prevocational and character training are provided to assist juvenile offenders to return to the community as law-abiding citizens. Greater emphasis has been placed on group counselling, work with parents, development of volunteerism and participation in community activities among the youngsters undergoing residential training - — with encouraging results. One of the projects undertaken by the trainees won the Commonwealth Youth Service Award for the first time in 1994.
In addition to the work carried out by the department, two subvented non-governmental organisations also provide hostel, employment, casework and volunteer services to help ex- offenders and young people with behavioural problems reintegrate with the community.
Family and Child Welfare
The Social Welfare Department and a number of non-governmental welfare organisations provide a variety of family and child welfare services. The overall objective is to preserve and strengthen the family as a unit, through assisting individuals and families to prevent, identify and solve their problems.
Family life education is a form of community education which aims to improve the quality of family life through the promotion of interpersonal relationships and social consciousness. Educational and promotional programmes are jointly organised by the department and non-governmental organisations.
To support the United Nations' proclamation of 1994 as the International Year of the Family, Hong Kong set up a co-ordinating committee to plan publicity strategies and organise activities to reaffirm the family's role as the basic unit of a stable community. The main theme was 'Family and Community: Unity, Harmony, Development'. Both the department and the non-governmental welfare organisations were involved in launching territory and district-wide programmes to spread the message. The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club donated $3.3 million to support the programmes.
A family casework service helps individuals and families deal with problems. There are 58 family services centres throughout the territory, 35 of which are run by the depart- ment and 23 by non-governmental organisations. The major services provided include counselling and referrals for financial and housing assistance, employment placement and other welfare services such as rehabilitation and elderly and child care services. With an establishment of 476 family caseworkers at the end of 1994, the centres handled a total of 56 740 cases during the year.
As a complement to the casework service, a family aide service is provided by 36 family services centres. This aims to provide training for clients on home management and child care and to help families attain self-reliance. A family care demonstration and resource centre was established in June to provide training in practical home management and caring skills, as well as resource materials for social workers. Nineteen family activity and resource centres were set up in government-run community centres to provide a drop-in service, mutual support and early identification and referral of cases in need of intensive casework service.
The clinical psychological service supports the casework service by providing in-depth and professional assessment and treatment to persons suffering from psychological and behavioural problems. At the end of the year, there were 32 clinical psychologists engaged in this work.