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Social Welfare
64 places for mildly mentally handicapped children who could not receive adequate care from their families.
Children with special needs who are on the waiting list of SWD-subvented pre-school rehabilitation services may apply for the Training Subsidy Programme to acquire self-financing training provided by NGOs while awaiting the subvented services. The means test is waived for eligible children on the special child care centre waiting list who are applying for a subsidy. The programme provided 2,947 training places in 2018.
Adults with Disabilities
In 2018, day activity centres offered 5,305 day training places for people with intellectual disabilities. The department provided 1,633 supported employment places for people with disabilities to work in open settings with assistance, 432 places under an On the Job Training Programme for People with Disabilities, and 311 places for young people with disabilities or early signs of mental illness under the Sunnyway - On the Job Training Programme for Young People with Disabilities. There were 5,386 places available in sheltered workshops and 4,737 places in integrated vocational rehabilitation services centres for those not yet ready to compete for open employment. Integrated vocational training centres offered another 453 places.
As at the year end, more than $115 million had been allocated to 28 NGOs under an Enhancing Employment of People with Disabilities through Small Enterprise Project, enabling them to set up 117 small businesses providing 855 job opportunities for people with disabilities. In tandem, the Marketing Consultancy Office (Rehabilitation) helps NGOs set up those small businesses and promotes products and services provided by people with disabilities under the brand, 'Let Them Shine'
A Support Programme for Employees with Disabilities gives employers a one-off subsidy of up to $20,000 per employee with disabilities to pay for assistive devices and workplace modifications to facilitate the employment and work efficiency of those employees. The programme also offers a maximum grant of $40,000 for a single assistive device that costs more. than $20,000 and its essential accessories.
In 2018, the department provided 12,784 subvented residential service places to offer residential care for people with disabilities who were unable to live independently in the community, or whose families could not care for them adequately. Another 600 residential places were provided under a Bought Place Scheme (BPS) for private residential care homes for persons with disabilities (RCHDs). Care-and-attention homes for the aged blind had 828 places, while halfway houses 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 regulates 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 a financial assistance scheme and the BPS encourage private RCHDs to upgrade their service standards. The ordinance and related codes of practice are under review.
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