210 | Social Welfare
The SWD also provides day child care services to support parents who cannot take care of their children temporarily because of work and other reasons. In 2011, the SWD and the Education Bureau continued to subsidise some standalone child care centres and some kindergarten-cum-child care centres to provide regular and full-day child care services. The department also subvented some of these centres to provide a total of 383 occasional child care service places and 1 230 extended hours. service places. In recent years, the SWD has introduced various new child care services such as the NSCCP which provides more flexible and home-based child care services to families in need.
Social Security
CSSA and SSA Schemes form the mainstay of Hong Kong's social security system. They are supplemented by three accident compensation schemes: the Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation (CLEIC) Scheme, the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance (TAVA) Scheme and Emergency Relief. These schemes are administered by 38 Social Security Field Units and two centralised offices.
The CSSA Scheme
The CSSA Scheme is non-contributory but means-tested. It provides cash assistance to people suffering from financial hardship to enable them to meet basic needs. Applicants must satisfy the stipulated residence requirement. At year-end, there were 276 710 CSSA cases involving 443 322 beneficiaries. The scheme's total expenditure in 2011 amounted to $17.97 billion, representing an increase of 3.2 per cent over the previous year.
Elderly people who have received CSSA continuously for at least one year are allowed under the Portable CSSA Scheme to continue receiving assistance in Guangdong or Fujian Province if they choose to retire there.
Employment Assistance Programmes
SWD provides personalised employment assistance through various programmes to help able-bodied unemployed recipients, single parents and child carers on CSSA move towards employment and become self-reliant. These programmes include:
Integrated Employment Assistance Scheme (IEAS) to help able-bodied unemployed CSSA recipients. aged between 15 and 59 secure full-time employment and become self-reliant. The IEAS provides ordinary and intensive employment assistance services. At year-end, 104 895 CSSA recipients had participated in the IEAS.
to help long-term
Special Training and Enhancement Programme (My STEP) CSSA able-bodied unemployed youth aged between 15 and 29 return to the workforce. Participants are provided with counselling and structured motivational and disciplinary training to enhance their self-image, self- confidence and sense of responsibility. At year-end, 1944 CSSA recipients had participated in My STEP.