XN000022-1994-12-14 — Page 79

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The Police pay close attention to the involvement of young people in substance abuse, and encourage information and reports on the problem from residents in Tai Po. The Police are available to the community to discuss juvenile drug abuse; last November, the Police addressed the Tai Po District Fight Crime Committee and 27 local headmasters on the problem of juvenile drug abuse in Tai Po and the territory as a whole.

The Education Department issued "Guidelines on the Handling of Drug Abuse in Secondary Schools" to all secondary schools in June this year. The guidelines cover signs which indicate drug addiction, preventive measures and ways to deal with the problem on school premises, and resources/support to which schools could turn for expert advice. Schools are advised to implement drug education for their students through the teaching of various school subjects such as Social Studies, Economic and Public Affairs, Religious Studies, Human Biology, Chemistry and Liberal Studies at the secondary level and Health Education at the primary level. Relevant topics will also be included in the syllabus of General Studies, a subject to be implemented in primary schools by 1996. The Department has organised training courses for secondary school teachers and discipline teachers to equip them with the for the knowledge, teaching skills and strategies essential implementation of drug education at school. Pamphlets are also produced for parents of all school-aged children to promote good parenting and communication between parents and their children.

The Social Welfare Department undertakes a number of measures to address the problem: to arouse parents' attention and seek their support in the prevention of drug abuse among young people by widening the circulation of the parent's guide and other promotional leaflets and producing a video film on "Parental support in handling drug problems"; to strengthen contacts at the local level between the District Fight Crime Committee, schools, children and youth centres, and outreaching social work teams to combat the problem; and to organise in-depth training programmes for forntline social workers.

An outreaching social work team was set up in the Tai Po District in June 1993. The target provision of a total of 30 outreaching social work teams as set out in the Social Welfare White Paper 1991 has been achieved. The need for further expansion of the service is being examined by a Steering Group.

End/Wednesday, December 14, 1994