ENG-1980 — Page 172

SOCIAL WELFARE

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At present, three government departments contribute directly to community building at district level the Home Affairs Department in the urban areas, the New Territories Administration, and the Social Welfare Department. The Education Department, the Urban Services Department, the Recreation and Sport Service and the Royal Hong Kong Police Force also organise activities which contribute towards community building objectives.

Voluntary agencies play an important role in the programme as well. Among the services they provide are children's and youth centres, neighbourhood level community develop- ment projects, uniformed and youth groups and volunteer work.

Services for Young People

Two territory-wide functions for young people - the Summer Youth Programme and the Chinese New Year Programme are organised each year by the Central Co-ordinating Committee for Youth Recreation. During the summer months, 2,000,000 young people took part in 8,000 programmes organised jointly by a number of government departments and voluntary agencies, while at Chinese New Year there were 281 events with 59,285 participants.

The School Social Work Service is designed to help school pupils whose academic, social or emotional development is in jeopardy. The service is provided jointly-by the Social Welfare Department, the Education Department and voluntary agencies. Its objec- tives are to assist students in making the maximum use of their educational opportunities, to develop their potential to the fullest extent, and to prepare for responsible adult life. In primary schools the work is carried out by student guidance officers of the Education Department, who are former teachers with in-service social work training. They have the support of professional social workers from the Social Welfare Department and voluntary agencies.

During the 1979-80 school year, five student guidance officers extended counselling to 349 primary schools with a student population of 43,363.

In secondary schools the service is provided by professional social workers from the Social Welfare Department and voluntary agencies. During the 1979-80 school year, the service was available in 213 secondary schools and it is hoped to extend it to cover all schools in 1981.

A further area in which social workers are active among the young is in staffing out- reaching teams which establish direct contact with young people in places where they may be at risk. Assistance and guidance is offered to help these youngsters to solve any personal problems they may have and so bring about a change of behaviour. There are 18 out-reaching teams operating in Hong Kong.

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation services are aimed at enabling disabled people to develop their physical, mental and social capabilities to the fullest extent possible, and to help them become integrated into the community. The Social Welfare Department is responsible for meeting the general welfare and social rehabilitation needs of the disabled, either through direct services or by providing subventions to voluntary agencies which have played an im- portant role in the development of services in this field.

In accordance with proposals made in the 1977 Rehabilitation White Paper, a number of changes in departmental responsibilities have taken place. The Education Department has assumed responsibility for the education of disabled children of school age, and most