CHAPTER 11 SOCIAL WELFARE
HONG KONG is not a welfare state but the community cares deeply about its state of welfare. Its residents expect the government to help the disadvantaged maintain an acceptable standard of living. In 1998, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) spent $25.5 billion in running its services.
The responsibility for carrying out government policies on social welfare rests with the Director of Social Welfare. It is based on the objectives set out in three White Papers, the most recent-on rehabilitation--entitled Equal Opportunities and Full Participation: A Better Tomorrow for All (1995).
The government is advised on social welfare policy by the Social Welfare Advisory Committee, covering all areas of social welfare development, the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee (the former Rehabilitation Development Co-ordinating Committee), on matters of rehabilitation and the Elderly Commission on services for the elderly. Members of the above Committees/Commission are appointed by the Chief Executive and their meetings are chaired by non-officials. The SWD maintains a close working partnership with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), most of which are subvented by the government and affiliated with the Hong Kong Council of Social Service.
An inter-departmental steering group chaired by the Director of Social Welfare completed a review on the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme. The steering group recommended a package of measures to promote self-reliance among unemployed CSSA recipients and provide active assistance to help them seek jobs.
To deter fraudulent claims on social security payments, the Social Welfare Department has deployed additional staff to conduct 36 000 more random checks by home visits annually to different categories of CSSA recipients and investigations on suspected fraud cases since April 1998. A special hotline was also set up on August 1 to encourage the public to report abuses of social security benefits.
More services were provided in 1998 to meet rising needs. They included the addition of 814 day nursery places, 13 clinical psychologists, 26 family caseworkers, three social workers for post migration service and three child protection workers. For young people, 14 additional school social workers and an outreaching social work team were provided, four combined children and youth centres and six integrated teams were established. Two pilot projects to help youth at risk were launched.
For the elderly, a further 177 places in homes for the aged, 1 254 care-and-attention home places, 950 nursing home places, 10 home help teams, six independent social
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