financed and so on. The Society opened an additional centre at Wong Tai Sin Resettlement Estate in October 1959.
24. In the past, there has perhaps been a tendency to remove too readily to institutions those members of the family whom its more active members could not maintain unaided, for instance handicapped children, the chronically ill, the disabled or the aged. This may some- times be the only practicable solution where trained staff and other resources for specialized care, or even for normal casework and visiting, is so notably deficient. As services for the handicapped develop, it is hoped to keep more and more such cases in the family, assisted by home visitors with some degree of special training. The aim would be to support the family and so avoid the discard of a member who then becomes a liability to society at large; sponsorship of needy children in their homes likewise may serve to prevent abandonment. A further stage which should be reached before long would be the boarding out of orphans in foster homes. All this demands more trained caseworkers than the 'concentrated' care of orphans or the disabled in institutions, but should in the end prove a better and more constructive use of
resources.
25. In many parts of the world, one common effect of poverty and overcrowding is that parents tend to have more children than they can afford to feed, clothe or educate; and Hong Kong is no exception to this tendency. But increasing numbers of poor parents are coming to realize the need to limit the size of their families, with the aid of the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong. This Association opened six new clinics during the year, making twenty six centres in all; it is making a useful contribution towards reducing the pressure of popula- tion in Hong Kong.
CHAPTER VI
YOUTH WELFARE
26. In spite of the enormous expansion in facilities for primary schooling since the war, there are still a large number of children who cannot find a place in school. To cater for those in the 8 to 14 age group who live in slum tenements and often in extremely cramped conditions, youth organizations and the Youth Welfare Section of the Department seek to provide recreation, informal education and other group activities. The Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A. between them catered for the interests of several thousands of children whilst the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association and its affiliated organizations were, by March
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