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As for the Child Protective Services Unit, Mr Wilson said it had undergone major expansion and development since its establishment in 1983.
"In recognition of the growing complexity of the child abuse cases being handled, the rank of the unit's caseworkers was upgraded to Social Work Officer in 1991 and last year, the manning ratios were improved.
"At present, the Unit is staffed by 16 senior social work practitioners and will continue to expand to provide not only remedial services to child abuse victims and their families, but also to promote prevention of child abuse at both the district and territory-wide levels," he said.
Noting that it was not by co-incidence that the Clinical Psychology Unit (1) and Child Protective Services Unit had been accommodated in adjacent offices, Mr Wilson said it was necessary for social workers and clinical psychologists to work closely together, especially on child abuse cases.
"This need for close collaboration has most recently been demonstrated in the joint efforts required to implement changes to the law designed to protect vulnerable witnesses through the use of video-recorded interviews," he added.
Earlier, the Director of Social Welfare, Mr Ian Strachan, said family and child welfare received top priority as government considered its welfare policies.
"We are fully aware of all the rapid social changes that have led to family breakdown and malfunctioning.
"The SWD continues to strengthen families and to ensure that the children of Hong Kong are provided with a suitable environment for their physical, social, emotional and intellectual development," Mr Strachan said.
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