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Social Welfare
and long-stay care homes had 1,509 and 1,587 places respectively for discharged mental patients.
Residential Care Homes for Persons with Disabilities
The department monitors the operation of RCHDs under the Residential Care Homes (Persons with Disabilities) Ordinance and helps improve their services by providing practice guidelines and staff training. Complementary measures such as the Financial Assistance Scheme for Private RCHDs and BPS for Private RCHDs encourage private RCHDs to upgrade their service standards. and provide more service options for people with disabilities.
Professional Support
Clinical psychologists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists render support services to people with disabilities in rehabilitation day centres and hostels. The department provides speech therapy to children attending pre-school rehabilitation centres.
Community support is available to people with disabilities living in the community, including ex-mentally ill people, and their families and carers. These services include district support centres for people with disabilities, home care and day care for people with severe disabilities, integrated support for those with severe physical disabilities, a transitional care and support centre for tetraplegic patients, community rehabilitation day centres, integrated community centres for mental wellness, and rehabilitation for those with visceral disability or chronic illness.
Day and residential respite services for people with disabilities, occasional child care for pre- schoolers with disabilities and resource centres for parents and other relatives are also available. Social and recreational centres for the disabled encourage people with disabilities to join community leisure activities.
Through the Lotteries Fund, the department is running a two-year Pilot Project on Peer Support Service in Community Psychiatric Service Units and a 30-month Pilot Project on Strengthening Support for Persons with Autism and their Parents/Carers, both launched in 2016.
Services for Offenders
The department performs a number of statutory functions and helps offenders reintegrate into the community and become law-abiding citizens through community-based and residential
services.
During the year, the department helped 3,118 offenders through a probation service and arranged for 2,433 offenders placed on community service orders to perform unpaid community work under supervision. Probation officers assess and report to the courts on offenders' suitability for probation orders and/or community service orders, and supervise those under the orders. The officers also prepare reports on long-term prisoners and petitioners being considered for early release.
The Enhanced Probation Service adopts a more focused, structured and intensive approach to help convicted young drug offenders aged below 21. The Tuen Mun Children and Juvenile
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