194 Social Welfare
At the secondary level, support services, ranging from developmental programmes to intensive counselling, are provided by 61 Integrated Family Service. Centres across various districts in Hong Kong and two 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 due to serious family, behavioural or emotional problems. There were 3 532 residential places in 2009 for these children, of which 970 were in foster homes, 864 in small group homes, 207 in residential child care centres and 1 491 in boys' and girls' homes and hostels.
The SWD also arranges adoption for children abandoned by their parents or whose parents are unable to support them. Three welfare NGOs are 'accredited bodies' in accordance with the Adoption Ordinance for making arrangements for inter-country adoption of Hong Kong children by suitable overseas parents. Starting from January 1, 2010, the three accredited welfare NGOs will also provide services in relation to cases of general consent in local adoption arrangements.
There were 12 aided stand-alone child care centres providing 690 places in the year. In addition, 494 occasional child care service places and 1 230 extended-hour service places in child care centres and kindergarten-cum-child care centres provide additional support for families. In 2009, the SWD continued to provide 50 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: the Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation (CLEIC) Scheme, the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance (TAVA) Scheme and Emergency Relief. These schemes are administered by 37 Social Security Field Units and two centralised offices.
The CSSA Scheme
The CSSA Scheme is non-contributory but means-tested. It 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 289 139 CSSA cases providing assistance to 482 001 people. The scheme's total expenditure in 2009 amounted to $18.94 billion, representing an increase of 2 per cent over the previous year.
Elderly people who have received CSSA continuously for at least one year are allowed under the Portable CSSA Scheme to continue receiving assistance in Guangdong Province or Fujian Province if they choose to retire there.
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