SOCIAL WELFARE
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for young offenders to stimulate their interest in school or in work and to develop their social skills.
The Young Offender Assessment Panel, run jointly by the Social Welfare Department and the Correctional Services Department, provides magistrates with a co-ordinated view on the most appropriate programme of rehabilitation for convicted young offenders aged between 14 and 25.
Seven residential institutions with a total capacity of 602 places are operated to provide custodial educational, pre-vocational and character training to assist juvenile offenders and youths at risk to return to the community. Besides work done by the department, two subvented organisations also provide hostel, employment, case- work and volunteer services to help ex-offenders and young people with behavioural problems re-integrate into the community.
Family and Child Welfare
The Social Welfare Department and 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.
About 3 500 programmes such as talks, small group activities, mass media pro- grammes were conducted by 71 Family Life Education workers of the department and non-governmental organisations.
The territory has 62 family services centres. Services provided include counselling, referrals for child care, elderly and rehabilitation services, job placement, financial and housing assistance. With an establishment of 575 family caseworkers at the end of 1995, the centres handled a total of 60 398 cases during the year.
A family aide service is provided to train clients on home management and child care and help families attain self-reliance. A family care demonstration and resource centre provides training in practical home management and caring skills, as well as resource materials for clients and 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, involving 33 clinical psychologists, provides indepth assessment and treatment to people suffering from psychological and behavioural problems, and support to the services of caseworkers and residential homes.
Two refuge homes provide 80 short-term residential places for women and their children who are victims of domestic violence and for girls at risk; while 107 home- help teams provide meals, personal care and household services to those in need.
The department continues to tackle the problem of street-sleeping with services provided by its outreaching teams and family services centres, plus temporary shelters, urban hostels, and day relief centres operated by non-governmental organisations.
A wide range of child welfare services is provided. Residential child care services are provided for children and young persons who, because of family crises or their own behavioural or emotional problems, need care and protection. At the end of