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Social Welfare
PATHS to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Scheme
The Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes (PATHS) to Adulthood project, funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, ended in 2012 but the trust has. approved funding for a three-year 'Youth Enhancement Programme' from January 2013, aiming to promote the holistic development of junior secondary students into responsible young adults.
District Support Scheme for Children and Youth Development
The SWD receives $15 million annually to provide direct cash assistance and implement projects through NGOs under the District Support Scheme for Children and Youth Development, a scheme launched to address the developmental needs of disadvantaged children and young people, which cannot be met by their families or the mainstream education system.
Child Development Fund
The $300-million Child Development Fund (CDF) provides children from disadvantaged backgrounds with more personal development opportunities to help reduce inter-generational poverty. Through the CDF projects, participants draw up and implement their own development plans and develop a habit of accumulating both financial and non-financial assets (such as acquiring a positive attitude and a proper mindset, personal resilience and capacities and social networks) so as to enhance their resource management and future planning abilities, thus preparing them for long-term development. So far, 40 projects have been rolled out, benefiting more than 4,400 children aged between 10 and 16.
Clinical Psychological Services
Within the SWD and NGOs, 73 clinical psychologists provide a range of services to welfare units handling family casework, rehabilitation and correctional matters. 3,789 clients were treated, and 3,073 psychological assessments and 17,989 treatment sessions were conducted.
Voluntary Work
The Steering Committee on Promotion of Volunteer Service continues to promote sustained volunteering under the theme 'Volunteering - New Attitude to Life' and encourages volunteers to integrate the core values and spirit of voluntary work into their daily lives. By year-end, around 2,400 organisations and more than one million individuals had registered for voluntary service at the SWD's 'Volunteer Movement' website.
Subventions and Service Monitoring
Recurrent subventions and capital grants were given to 171 NGOs to provide social welfare services in accordance with government policies. Capital grants from the Lotteries Fund were allocated to NGOs on the advice of the Lotteries Fund Advisory Committee. The Service Performance Monitoring System keeps track of the output, outcome and service quality of subvented units, according to 16 well-defined service quality standards and specific funding
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