ENG-1991 — Page 215

SOCIAL WELFARE

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from 6 to 24 to foster the development of their personality, character, social aptitude, sense of civic responsibility, ability to use their leisure time constructively and to enable those with adjustment problems to direct their energies towards positive goals in society.

At district level, apart from providing group work activities in community centres, the department promotes and co-ordinates youth programmes and encourages the es- tablishment of self-programming and volunteer groups through its youth offices. Since 1974, the department has been running the Opportunity for Youth Scheme. Every year, young people are helped with funds to implement a variety of community service projects to meet specific social needs. Awards are given for outstanding projects to recognise the contributions of participants.

Children and youth centres, operated mainly by subvented welfare agencies, serve as focal points for a variety of programmes and activities for the personal growth and social development of young people. In 1991, 11 combined children and youth centres were opened, making a total of 207 units of children centres and 211 units of youth centres.

Outreaching social work attempts to cater to groups of young people at risk who do not normally participate in organised youth activities. In 1991, there were totally 24 out- reaching social work teams serving in priority areas with large youth populations, high population density and high juvenile crime rates.

School social work service, provided by social workers in secondary schools, helps students with personal behavioural or family-related problems in adjusting to school life. It will be improved by phases to attain a manning ratio of one school social worker for every 2,000 students.

Uniformed organisations offer young people opportunities to join organised activities with progressive training programmes to help them develop character and leadership so that they can eventually become responsible, self-reliant and caring members of the community. There are eight subvented welfare organisations, with over 79 000 members operating a wide range of activities with different emphasis for different target groups of young people. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme offers a comprehensive programme focusing on development of the potential of young people, attracting a membership of 38 000 through its 20 operating authorities.

Rehabilitation of the Disabled

The objective of Hong Kong's rehabilitation services is to integrate the disabled into the community. Services provided by government departments and non-governmental organisations aim to enable disabled people to fully develop their physical, mental and social capabilities. These services are co-ordinated by the Commissioner for Rehabilitation, who also conducts regular reviews of the Rehabilitation Programme Plan which projects the requirement for and identifies the shortfall in rehabilitation services for the following 10 years. A Working Party on Rehabilitation Policies and Services, chaired by the Secretary for Health and Welfare, is preparing a Green Paper on Rehabilitation. This should be published for public consultation early in 1992.

The Department of Health is responsible for preventing disabilities by promoting health education and improving immunisation programmes against various communicable diseases, and providing screening services for early identification of disabilities. The Hospital Authority is responsible for providing medical rehabilitation services. The Social