ENG-1981 — Page 179

SOCIAL WELFARE

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Payments are made for personal injury or death only; damage to property is not included. The scheme does not affect the applicant's right to claim common law damages in the usual way. However, beneficiaries of the scheme who subsequently receive damages or other compensation, in respect of the same accident, will be required to refund either the payments they have received from the scheme or the amount of damages or compensation, whichever is the less. The rates and conditions or payment under the scheme are based on the Payment Schedule of the Emergency Relief Fund. During the year, a total of 5 650 applications were received, of which 4835 were given assistance amounting to $22.5 million.

To prevent abuse, a special team investigates cases of suspected fraud or overpayment. During the year, the team completed investigation of 240 cases, some of which were referred to the Attorney General for possible prosecution.

The Social Security Appeal Board, which considers individual appeals against the decisions of the Social Welfare Department regarding social security benefits, received 62 appeals during the year. Of these, 17 were Public, Assistance cases, 43 were Special Needs Allowance cases, and two were Traffic Accident Victims Assistance cases.

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Aid for Probationers

Services to criminal offenders include provision for giving effect to the directions of the courts on the treatment of offenders by social work methods, with the aim of re-integrating them into the community. These services include probation supervision - operated through probation offices established in each magistracy or higher court building - a remand home service, residential training in correctional institutions and after-care.

Probation, which is a penalty alternative to imprisonment, applies to offenders of all age groups. It allows offenders to remain in the community under the supervision of probation officers and subject to prescribed rules of conduct set by the courts. Apart from professional services, volunteers from many walks of life participate in the programme under a volunteer scheme for probationers. The purpose of the scheme is to enhance community involvement in rehabilitating probationers.

Educational, prevocational, social and recreational training is provided in remand homes and correctional institutions to assist juvenile offenders to return to the community as law-abiding citizens. The Social Welfare Department has five institutions specialising in this work, each with a slightly different training programme to cater for different ages and

sexes.

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The Begonia Road Boys' Home and the Ma Tau Wei Girls' Home are combined remand and probation institutions for offenders under the age of 18 and in need of care and protection. The Castle Peak Boys' Home is for boys under 16 and above 14 on admission, who are sent there for a relatively long-term, residential, re-education programme, following conviction by the courts. The O Pui Shan Boys' Home is a reformatory school for offenders aged 14 and under on admission. The Kwun Tong Hostel is a probation hostel for young men aged between 16 and 21 who are placed on probation by the courts on condition that they reside at the hostel for up to one year.

The department also operates an after-care unit which helps offenders to rejoin society by preparing them while they are still in the schools and giving them support after they leave. During 1981 an adviser from the United Kingdom made two visits to Hong Kong to review all aspects of the organisation and operational aspects of the five correctional institutions, to make recommendations on future development of their services, and on the types of social work and educational programmes to be provided.