ENG-1984 — Page 205

SOCIAL WELFARE

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In addition, the government provides financial assistance to various uniformed youth groups which manage a number of youth camps and hostels.

Services are also designed for those young people who are not motivated to participate in organised youth activities. Particular attention is paid to those who may be in danger of delinquency, Eighteen outreaching teams have been specially established to reach out to young people at risk. The social workers in these teams pay particular attention to young people who frequent playgrounds, parks, fast food restaurants and discotheques, in order to gain their confidence and to encourage them to seek help to overcome personal, emotional and behavioural problems.

A school social work service is available to all primary and secondary school pupils. Social workers in the Social Welfare Department or subvented agencies visit secondary schools on certain days of the week to assist pupils who may need their help. Student guidance officers of the Education Department are based in primary schools to provide personal, educational and vocational guidance to pupils, with the support of trained social workers from the Social Welfare Department.

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation services have the main objective of integrating the disabled into the community. Services in this area are, therefore, aimed at enabling disabled people to develop their physical, mental and social capabilities to the fullest extent. 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 subvention for a wide range of services and activities operated by voluntary agencies.

Rehabilitation is a complex area and the work of the several government departments and many welfare agencies in the field is carefully co-ordinated by means of annual reviews of the Rehabilitation Programme Plan under the auspices of the Rehabilitation Development Co-ordinating Committee. The Education Department is responsible for all aspects of the education and training of disabled children of school age and for boarding care and transport services in special schools. The Technical Education and Industrial Training Department co-ordinates vocational training for disabled young people and adults. Job placement for the deaf, the blind and other physically disabled people has been the responsibility of the Selective Placement Service of the Labour Department for some time and, in July, the service also took over responsibility for the placement of the ex-mentally ill and the mentally handicapped. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service operates a placement service for the socially handicapped.

The Social Welfare Department provides the disabled with direct services such as financial assistance, counselling services, compassionate rehousing, day and residential care centres, sheltered workshops, work activity centres and sports, recreational and transport facilities. It operates 17 centres and institutions and subvents 70 centres run by 26 voluntary agencies. The services of these agencies include, in addition to those also provided by the Social Welfare Department, child care centres, programmes for disabled children under the age of two and their parents, and half-way houses.

Day care services for the disabled include work activity centres and sheltered workshops. Work activity centres provide day care for the more severely mentally handicapped adults who cannot benefit from vocational training or sheltered work. At the end of 1984, there were a total of 638 work activity places provided by the Social Welfare Department and subvented voluntary agencies. Four new centres were under active planning to provide an additional 220 places in 1985. Sheltered workshops provide work opportunities for those