ENG-1954 — Page 189

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1954

adult offenders. Legislation for extending the use of probation to the adult courts is under consideration by Government, and in view of this, a hostel and reporting centre, which will also have facilities as a club for adults, a library, and an economy canteen, are being planned. After-care of prisoners was initiated in November 1951. Inmates of the men's prison at Stanley are now visited by caseworkers of the Salvation Army, and those in the female prison by the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society, before their discharge.

Youth Organizations

A variety of services is provided by youth organiza- tions in Hong Kong for boys and girls, mostly between the ages of nine and sixteen. 87 clubs with a total membership of about 3,600 non-school children were in existence at the end of 1954, and these were either run directly by the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association or else affiliated to it, as in the case of the 13 Social Welfare Office clubs which are supervised by the Principal Youth Welfare Officer. The children attend- ing these clubs receive an informal basic education, as well as a training in handicrafts. The Association has begun to establish clubs for members over the age of 16, and to extend its activities to rural areas. Most of the boys and girls have to contribute to the family income or assume responsibility for household duties at an earlier age than in western countries, but a nutritional survey of 4,000 club members and other under- privileged children carried out this year by the Medical Department in co-operation with the Youth Welfare Section of the Social Welfare Office, has revealed that the health of these children is satisfactory.

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