ENG-1989 — Page 201

SOCIAL WELFARE

appeals was heard by the board during the year. Of these, six were related to public assistance, 37 to special needs allowances, and two to traffic accident victims assistance.

Services for Offenders

The Social Welfare Department has several statutory duties in the field of services for offenders. These duties are to put into effect the directions of the courts on the treatment of offenders through social work methods. The overall aim is to rehabilitate offenders through probation supervision, the Community Service Order Scheme, residential training for young offenders and after-care services.

The Community Service Order Scheme started in January 1987 and is another community-based treatment. Its aims are both punitive and rehabilitative. It requires an offender over the age of 14 and convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment to perform unpaid work of benefit to the community and to receive counselling and guidance from a Probation Officer. A full review of the scheme conducted during the year has confirmed its effectiveness.

Probation 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 set by the courts. Community participation in the rehabilitation of offenders has been promoted through the Volunteers Scheme for Probationers in which volunteers from many walks of life are selected to provide probationers with personal and moral support, as well as direct services.

In April 1987, a Young Offenders Assessment Panel was set up jointly by the Social Welfare Department and the Correctional Services Department. The panel comprises professional staff from the two departments and provides magistrates with a co-ordinated view on the most appropriate programme of rehabilitation for convicted young offenders aged between 14 and 25. Following an overall review of the functions and services of the panel in 1988, active plans are being made to extend its services.

The Social Welfare Department operates seven residential institutions, each with a slightly different training programme to cater for the needs of the residents. Educational, pre-vocational, and character training are provided to assist juvenile offenders to return to the community as law-abiding citizens. The Begonia Road Boys' Home and Ma Tau Wai Girls' Home are combined remand-and-probation institutions for juvenile offenders and youths in need of statutory care and protection. The establishment of Pui Chi Boys' Home in 1984 helped to alleviate overcrowding in the probation section of the Begonia Road Boys' Home by catering for a younger age group of under 14. Similarly, the Pui Yin Juvenile Home, in operation since February 1986, has contributed to improving conditions at the remand sections of the Begonia Road Boys' Home and Ma Tau Wai Girls' Home. The Castle Peak Boys' Home is a reformatory school for boys aged 13 to 15 on admission, while the O Pui Shan Boys' Home is a similar institution for those aged under 13 on admission. Since April 1989, these two boys' homes have undertaken aftercare services to enhance the co-ordination and continuity of their treatment programmes. The Kwun Tong Hostel is a probation hostel for young men aged between 16 and 21.

While a new girls' home is being built in Tuen Mun, plans are in hand to improve residential facilities, including the relocation of the Castle Peak Boys' Home and Begonia Road Boys' Home to Sha Tin and Ngau Chi Wan. Following a review of the educational programmes in these institutions, the department has recruited qualified teachers to run all academic teaching and pre-vocational training. New teaching material is being designed to suit the needs and interests of the trainees. These new arrangements have brought about

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