SOCIAL WELFARE
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abusers. For the elderly, a further 120 places in homes for the aged, 785 care-and- attention home places, 24 social centres and two day-care centres were set up.
For people with a disability, the department established 380 places in sheltered workshops, 123 places in day activity centres, 706 hostel places, 50 care-and-attention home places for severely disabled persons and 252 care-and-attention home places for aged blind persons.
Co-ordinated by the department, the Working Group on Battered Spouses was set up in April 1995. During 1996, it produced and distributed to all concerned professionals a set of multi-disciplinary procedural guidelines on the handling of cases involving battered spouses and enhanced publicity on services available to victims of spouse battering.
During the year, the Working Group on Child Abuse co-ordinated multi- disciplinary efforts in implementing legislative measures in protecting child abuse victims giving evidence in court, revising procedural guidelines on handling child abuse cases, launching publicity and public education campaigns to prevent child abuse, setting up 13 District Committees on Child Abuse, and strengthening the joint training of professionals in handling child abuse cases.
The Working Group on Services for Youth at Risk completed its deliberations on teenage suicide, illicit use of drugs among young people, teenage sexuality, runaway youth and juvenile gangs. During the year, several recommendations made by the Working Group to address these issues were implemented, including the production of a videotape on helping parents to handle their children's drug problems. The major recommendations which are still being pursued by the Working Group include developing a screening tool to identify youth at risk, modernisation of children and youth centres, producing a sex education training kit for parents, conducting an in- depth research on juvenile gangs and runaway youth, and enhancing district collaboration efforts to tackle the issues concerned.
Social Security
Social security aims to help vulnerable groups in the community who require financial or material assistance. The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme and the Social Security Allowance (SSA) Scheme are the key elements in the non-contributory social security system administered by the Social Welfare Department. They are supplemented by three other schemes: the Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Scheme, the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme and Emergency Relief.
The CSSA Scheme is means-tested and is designed to bring the income of needy individuals and families up to a level so that they can meet their basic and special needs. Persons who have resided in Hong Kong for not less than one year may be eligible if their income and other resources are below the prescribed levels.
The scheme comprises a range of monthly standard rates to meet the basic and special needs of different categories of recipients. Rates range from $1,615 to $4,185 for a single person and from $1,440 to $3,865 for a family member. Special grants are available to meet the special needs of individual recipients and families, such as rent, education expenses, medically recommended diets, spectacles and dentures. A monthly supplement of $230 is paid to single parents to take account of the special difficulties which single parents face in bringing up their children. An annual long-