216 | Social Welfare
also provide overnight outreaching service to help young night drifters get back on the right track.
Services for Juvenile Delinquents
The Community Support Service Scheme (CSSS) assists young people who have broken the law, or are under the Police Superintendent's Discretion Scheme. Six CSSS teams, one operated by the SWD and five by NGOs, provide services to these young people.
The Family Conference Scheme, run jointly by the SWD and the Hong Kong Police Force, assists juveniles cautioned under the Police Superintendent's Discretion Scheme for the second time or who are in need of the services of three or more parties. Social workers, police officers, teachers and parents of these young people work together to decide what treatment is best for them.
Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Services
At year-end, the SWD was subventing 14 residential drug treatment and rehabilitation centres and halfway houses, 11 counselling centres for psychotropic substance abusers and two centres for drug counselling. Under the Drug Dependent Persons Treatment and Rehabilitation Centres (Licensing) Ordinance, 20 licences and 20 certificates of exemption for drug treatment and rehabilitation centres were issued or renewed in 2011.
School Social Work Service
At year-end, 478 secondary schools were each provided with a stationing school social worker to help students with academic, social and emotional problems and to maximise their educational opportunities. Since September 2011, the SWD has allocated additional resources to enhance the school social work service by a 20 per cent increase in manpower to help prevent and tackle student drug abuse and other related problems.
P.A.TH.S. to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Scheme
In the 2011-12 school year, a total of 237 secondary schools joined the Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes (PATHS) to Adulthood project. This time-limited project funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust was launched in the 2005-06 school year. It aims to promote the holistic development of junior secondary students into responsible young adults.
District Support Scheme for Children and Youth Development
Since the 2005-06 financial year, the SWD has received a recurrent annual provision of $15 million to provide direct cash assistance and implement projects under the District Support Scheme for Children and Youth Development. The scheme was launched to address the developmental needs of disadvantaged children and young people, which cannot be met by their families or the mainstream education system.