ENG-1978 — Page 159

SOCIAL WELFARE

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base for organising home help, laundry services, counselling, and social and recrea- tional activities.

Group and Community Work

The Social Welfare Department's Group and Community Work Division operates through a network of seven community centres, eight estate community centres and 10 community halls. Neighbourhood welfare services provided in these buildings in- clude libraries, day nurseries, vocational training, interest groups, social clubs for different age groups and family counselling. There are 14 community and youth officers in the field who are responsible for promoting, developing and co-ordinating community and youth services in their districts. They also assist in the implementation of the Summer Youth Programme, which is organised by the Central Co-ordinating Committee for Youth Recreation. Also operating within the division are three rural mobile service teams which provide cultural, group and community work services to remote villages in the New Territories.

During 1978, 10 Family Life Education Officers organised various educational programmes for families to help them more fully understand their roles and re- sponsibilities. The officers also provide a preventive service which aims at reducing the number of broken families as well as problem youths.

A substantial contribution towards providing recreational and social services for young people is made by voluntary agencies, which run a number of children's and youth centres. They play an important part in organising play-leadership programmes, arranging detached work for young people and providing counselling services.

Family Welfare Services

Family welfare services are designed to assist individuals and family members to handle and solve their personal and family problems. These services are provided by the Social Welfare Department through a network of 17 casework units, and assistance is available to any family or individual requesting help. Some voluntary agencies also provide similar services.

The work of the Social Welfare Department's Family Services Division includes counselling on family problems and inter-personal relationships, cases of abuse and ill-treatment of children, and difficulties arising from mental and physical disability, old age, unemployment, desertion, illness and death of family members. Other services include the care and protection of children and young women exposed to moral or physical danger and making referrals for schooling, employment, special training, housing, financial assistance, home-help, legal advice, medical attention and place- ments in appropriate institutions for selected vulnerable groups, such as unmarried mothers and their children, the aged and the disabled. The number of families and individuals assisted in 1978 totalled 14,852.

The department also exercises statutory functions in this field under a number of ordinances, such as the Protection of Women and Juveniles Ordinance, the Guardian- ship of Minors Ordinance No. 12 of 1977, the Marriage Ordinance, and the Offences Against the Person Ordinance. In accordance with the Adoption Ordinance, legal adoptions both locally and overseas are arranged in co-operation with the Interna- tional Social Service and Caritas - Hong Kong. With the amendment of the Protection