ENG-2000 — Page 237

SOCIAL WELFARE

The Marketing Consultancy Office (Social Service) was set up in January 1997 as a pilot project to enhance the productivity of sheltered workshops and the income of people with disabilities. Having assessed its effectiveness in enhancing employment opportunities for the disabled, the SWD had decided to establish it on a permanent basis.

The SWD expanded its three Child Protective Services Units into five regionally based Family and Child Protective Services Units in April 2000 to provide specialised service to protect victims of child abuse and domestic violence and their family members. A co-ordinated service is provided to these families through multi- disciplinary collaboration, early detection and intervention, public education and prevention.

The Working Group on Sexual Violence, convened by the SWD and comprising representatives from 12 bureaux and government departments, was set up in May 2000 to formulate strategies to address the problem of sexual violence by reviewing existing provisions, enhancing multi-disciplinary co-ordination and public education in order to tackle the problem of sexual violence and strengthen provision of services. to assist the victims. The department is also working closely with a non-governmental organisation on setting up a crisis centre against sexual violence which aims to address the issues of sexual assault and trauma through a comprehensive range of services, including intervention, treatment, education and prevention.

For young people, the policy of 'one school social worker for each secondary school' was implemented in August. The Committee on Services for Youth at Risk has completed the small-scale implementation project under the Understanding the Adolescent Project. The committee continued to follow up on integrating services for young night drifters into outreaching social work teams/integrated teams, the pilot project of Enhancement of Career Education in Schools, and an in-depth study on a juvenile gang case.

To build a caring community, the SWD formed a Steering Committee on Volunteer Movement involving members from other government departments, NGOs, professionals and corporations to further the Hong Kong-wide movement, especially promoting volunteering in schools and corporations. A web site on Volunteer Movement was developed to provide a forum for information sharing and on-line registration. At the end of the year, 350 organisations with 200 000 volunteers had registered with the movement.

The department introduced a subvention reform package to streamline the funding arrangement for NGOs and to enhance the service performance monitoring, with a view to bringing about more cost-effective use of public funds and improved accountability.

Social Security

The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme and the Social Security Allowance (SSA) Scheme form the mainstay of Hong Kong's social security system. They are supplemented by three accident compensation schemes: the Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Scheme, the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme and Emergency Relief.

The CSSA Scheme is non-contributory but means-tested. It aims to provide cash assistance to people suffering from financial hardship to meet basic livelihood needs.

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