ENG-2018 — Page 222

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Social Welfare

Funded by the Community Care Fund, the department rolled out a pair of three-year pilot schemes for the elderly. The Pilot Scheme on Home Care and Support for Elderly Persons with Mild Impairment, launched in December 2017, is expected to serve a quota of about 4,000 low- income elderly people. The Pilot Scheme on Support for Elderly Persons Discharged from Public Hospitals after Treatment, launched in February 2018, aims to provide at least 3,200 elderly people with transitional residential care and/or community care and support to help them age in place in a familiar community and thereby prevent their premature long-term admission to residential care homes for the elderly (RCHES).

Residential Care

The department regulates RCHES under the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance. It also provides practice guidelines and staff training on the proper care of elderly residents. At the year end, RCHES had about 27,000 subsidised residential care places. A working group set up by the department was reviewing the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance, the Residential Care Homes (Persons with Disabilities) Ordinance and related codes of practice.

A three-year Pilot Scheme on Residential Care Service Voucher for the Elderly, launched in 2017, offers a total of 3,000 vouchers in batches to eligible elderly people to give them an additional choice while incentivising RCHEs to enhance their services.

Carers of Elderly from Low-income Families

A Pilot Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of the Elderly Persons from Low Income Families, managed under the Community Care Fund, provides up to 6,000 eligible carers with a living. allowance to supplement their expenses so elderly people with long-term care needs may, with their carers' help, receive proper care and remain living in the community. Phase three was launched in October.

Dementia Community Support Scheme

A two-year pilot Dementia Community Support Scheme, launched jointly by the Food and Health Bureau, the SWD and the Hospital Authority in 2017, provides support services for elderly people with mild or moderate dementia and their carers based on a medical-social collaboration model. The pilot scheme will be regularised in February 2019 and expanded to all 41 district elderly community centres and seven Hospital Authority clusters in the territory. After regularisation, it is expected to support over 2,000 elderly people each year.

Services for Persons with Disabilities

Rehabilitation services are provided by government departments and NGOs to meet the different needs of people with disabilities, develop their capabilities and help them integrate into society.

Children with Special Needs

At the year end, there were 1,980 integrated programme places in kindergarten-cum-child care centres; 1,888 places in special child care centres, including 110 residential places; 3,454 places in early education and training centres; and 5,187 places under on-site pre-school rehabilitation services regularised in October for children with special needs. Small group homes provided

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