194 | Social Welfare
Violence' was conducted during the year. The SWD continues to operate a departmental hotline to provide service information, counselling and other forms of assistance.
At the secondary level, a range of support services, from developmental programmes to intensive counselling, is provided by 61 Integrated Family Service Centres across Hong Kong and two NGO-run Integrated Services Centres located in Tung Chung.
At the tertiary level, specialised services, including crisis intervention, are provided in cases of domestic violence, family crisis or custody dispute.
Services for Children
The SWD provides a wide range of welfare services to children and young people who need care or protection because of serious family problems or because of their behavioural or emotional problems. There were 3 432 residential places in 2007 for these children, of which 950 are in foster homes, 887 in small group homes, 207 in child care centres and 1 388 in boys' and girls' homes and hostels.
The SWD also arranges adoptions for children abandoned by their parents or whose parents are unable to support them. Three welfare NGOs were accredited as 'accredited bodies' in accordance with the Adoption Ordinance for making arrangements for inter-country adoption of Hong Kong children by suitable overseas parents. The SWD plans to involve accredited bodies in local adoption arrangements, which are currently handled by the department.
There were 12 aided stand-alone child care centres which can accommodate up to 662 children in 2007. Child care centres and kindergarten-cum-child care centres continued to provide full day care services and additional support for families through the provision of 495 occasional child care places and 1 244 extended-hour places. In 2007, the SWD created 40 day foster care places and 15 day small group home places.
Social Security
The 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, namely, the Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Scheme, the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme and Emergency Relief. There are 37 Social Security Field Units and two centralised offices administering these schemes across Hong Kong.
The CSSA Scheme
The CSSA Scheme is non-contributory but means-tested. The scheme provides cash assistance to people suffering from financial hardship to enable them to meet basic needs. Applicants must satisfy the stipulated residence requirements. At year- end, there were 288 145 CSSA cases providing assistance to 496 922 people, compared with 295 333 cases and 521 611 people in 2006. The scheme's total
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