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Social Welfare

School Social Work

In 2016, 561 school social workers were provided for 465 secondary schools to help students with academic, social and emotional problems and to maximise their educational

opportunities.

Juvenile Delinquents

Five NGO-operated Community Support Service Scheme teams help young people who are subject to the Police Superintendent's Discretion Scheme (PSDS). The Family Conference Scheme, run jointly by the SWD and the police, helps juveniles who are cautioned under the PSDS for the second time or are in need of the services of three or more parties. Social workers, police officers, and the teachers and parents of juveniles under the PSDS work together to decide what is best for them.

Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation

The department subvents 13 residential drug treatment and rehabilitation centres and halfway houses, 11 counselling centres for psychotropic substance abusers and two centres for drug counselling. It also supervises the operation of the treatment and rehabilitation centres under the Drug Dependent Persons Treatment and Rehabilitation Centres (Licensing) Ordinance, improving their services by providing practical guidelines and professional advice on licensing requirements to ensure the well-being of the drug-dependent residents is safeguarded properly.

Paths to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Programme

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust funds the Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes to Adulthood (Paths to Adulthood): A Jockey Club Community-Based Youth Enhancement Programme to promote the holistic development of junior secondary students into responsible young adults. The department continued to execute the second batch of the programme in 2016.

District Support Scheme for Children and Youth Development

The department renders direct cash assistance via a District Support Scheme for Children and Youth Development to address the developmental needs of disadvantaged children and young people aged 24 or below in the districts.

Services for the Elderly

The government encourages elderly people to lead active and healthy lives, offering community care and support services to enable them to age in place. Subsidised residential care services are available for those who have long-term care needs but cannot receive adequate care at home.

In 2016, the government merged the Opportunities for the Elderly Project and the Neighbourhood Active Ageing Project into a new Opportunities for the Elderly Project to encourage elderly people to participate actively in community affairs and to build an age-friendly community. It subsidised 324 programmes with government grants totalling $6.7 million.

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