HONG KONG 2005

The overall objective of the family and child welfare programme is to preserve and strengthen the family as a unit by assisting individuals and families to identify and deal with their problems, prevent problems from arising and provide for needs which cannot be met from within the family. A comprehensive network of family and child welfare services is provided by the SWD and NGOs.

The SWD adopts a three-pronged approach to providing a range of services to support families.

At the primary level, problems and crises are avoided by early identification and through publicity, education and empowerment. The publicity campaign, 'Strengthening Families and Combating Violence', continued during the year. The allocation of additional resources helped improve central and district-level publicity activities to strengthen family solidarity, encourage people to seek help early and prevent violence (including spouse battering, child abuse, elder abuse and sexual violence). The department's hotline service gives information on social welfare services and immediate telephone counselling to individuals and families facing crises. In addition to providing training to help workers identify and intervene early in domestic violence cases, the department commissioned the HKU Family Institute to conduct a series of seminars from November to January 2006 on basic awareness of domestic violence in eight locations across the territory for over 3 000 related professionals, such as social workers, police officers, medical personnel and teachers, and district personnel, including district council members.

At the secondary level, there is a range of support services, from developmental programmes to intensive counselling. The SWD completed the re-engineering of family services in March and, through pooling of resources, a total of 61 IFSCs were set up to provide services which include family life education, parent-child activities, an enquiry service, volunteer training, an outreach service, therapeutic, developmental and educational mutual support groups and programmes, and a counselling and referral service for individuals or families in need. There are also two NGO-run integrated services centres serving specific areas in Tung Chung and some parts of the outlying islands. During the year, the SWD also tapped additional resources to strengthen manpower and cover other expenses of the centres.

At the tertiary level, specialised services and crisis intervention are provided by a number of service units. In April, through re-deployment and the addition of resources, the department set up an additional Family and Child Protective Unit in Yuen Long to strengthen its service to the victims of child abuse and spouse battering and their families. This brings the number of such units and the specialised teams up to six. It also employed eight additional clinical psychologists on a contract basis to enhance the professional support for the family services and turned the 24-hour Suicide Crisis Intervention Centre operated by the Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong into a regular service.

Additional resources were allocated to the Family Crisis Support Centre to enhance its hotline service at night and also to the four Refuge Centres for Women, which provide 162 short-term residential places for women-in-need, to strengthen their social work support after office hours and other support services. Two four-year pilot projects on the Prevention and Handling of Elder Abuse were completed at end of March 2005.

The department provides a wide range of child welfare services. The adoption service arranges permanent homes for children abandoned by their parents or whose parents are unable to support them. Residential child care services are provided for children and young people who need care or protection because of family crises or their behavioural or emotional problems. Through the allocation of new resources and re-engineering of residential child care services in 2005, the overall provision of residential child care services increased from 3 305 in 2004-05 to 3 400 at end of 2005 — 905 places in the foster care service, 888 places in small group homes, 231 places in residential créches/nurseries and 1 376 places in children's homes, boys' and girls' homes and hostels.

Amendments to the principal legislation in the Adoption Ordinance were completed in July 2004 both to bring it into line with the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and to improve local adoption arrangements. Further legislative amendments to the subsidiary legislation were gazetted on December 16, 2005, and tabled at the Legislative Council on December 21.

The Child Care Services (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Legislative Council in June 2005 to harmonise pre-primary services. From September 1, child care centres were redefined as day care services for children under the age of three. Day nurseries for children aged from two to six or from birth to six became kindergarten-cum-child care centres and were placed under the administration of the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB). A Joint Office for Pre-primary Services staffed by both the SWD and EMB was set up under the EMB to provide one-stop services to kindergarten-cum-child care centres. The Kindergarten Fee Remission Scheme was also extended to cover children attending child care centres and renamed the Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme. Low-income families meeting the social need and means-test criteria can receive fee remission in part or full for child care.

At year-end, there were 13 stand-alone aided child care centres providing 697 places. Child care centres and those day nurseries that were converted to kindergarten-cum-child care centres continued to provide full day child care services. During the year, these centres also gave occasional or extended hours of child care assistance to support families with child care needs through the provision of 505 occasional child care places and 1 244 extended hour places.

The Duty Lawyer Service was commissioned to run the Legal Representation Scheme in October 2003. The scheme is for children and juveniles involved in care or protection proceedings who are deprived of liberty and detained in a gazetted place of refuge under the Protection of Children and Juveniles Ordinance. It was extended on June 30, 2005, to cover children/juveniles taken directly to the juvenile court by the Police without any period of detention at a gazetted place of refuge before the court hearing, and those likely to be detained in a gazetted place of refuge on the recommendation of a social worker of the department.

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. There are 37 Social Security Field Units and two centralised offices administering these schemes across Hong Kong.

The CSSA Scheme is non-contributory but means-tested. The scheme provides cash assistance to people suffering from financial hardship, enabling them to meet basic needs. Applicants should satisfy the stipulated residence requirements. At year-end, there were 298 011 CSSA cases benefiting 539 963 people, compared with 295 694 cases and 542 017 people in 2004. Total expenditure on CSSA during the year amounted to $17.71 billion, representing an increase of 0.2 per cent over the previous year.

The eligibility requirements under the Portable CSSA Scheme were relaxed in August providing elderly people who have received CSSA for not less than a year the option of retiring to Guangdong or Fujian Province.

With effect from November, a monthly community living supplement is payable to severely disabled CSSA recipients who are medically certified to be 100 per cent disabled or in need of constant attendance and who are not living in institutions in recognition of the heavier expenses they may incur while living in the community.

The department continued to implement the comprehensive package of employment-related services and intensified measures under the Support for Self-reliance Scheme during the year to help able-bodied unemployed CSSA recipients and other socially disadvantaged groups. In October, it commissioned more NGOs to begin the third batch of 35 Intensive Employment Assistance Projects to provide targeted employment assistance to at least 10 500 employable CSSA recipients and near-CSSA recipients to help them move towards self-reliance.

The non-contributory SSA Scheme provides the recipients and their families with allowances to cope with the special needs that may arise from severe disabilities and old age. The scheme comprises Normal Disability Allowance, Higher Disability Allowance, Normal Old Age Allowance and Higher Old Age Allowance. At year-end, 572 771 people were receiving SSA, compared with 566 446 in 2004. Total expenditure during the year was $5.31 billion, an increase of 1.3 per cent over the previous year.

With effect from October, the permissible limit of absence from Hong Kong under the SSA Scheme was relaxed from 180 days to 240 days a year to allow the recipients to spend more time outside Hong Kong.

The Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Scheme offers ex gratia payments on a non-means-tested basis to innocent victims injured in crimes of violence or through the action of a law enforcement officer using a weapon in the execution of his duties, or the dependants of those who are killed in such circumstances. During the year, $10.58 million was paid out, compared to $11.67 million the previous year. The Traffic Accident Victims Assistance (TAVA) Scheme provides speedy financial assistance for people injured or for dependants of those killed in road accidents on a non-means-tested basis, regardless of the element of fault leading to the occurrence of the accident. During the year, $156.64 million was paid out, compared with $157.38 million in 2004.

Emergency relief in the form of cooked meals or cash grants in lieu of cooked meals and other relief articles is provided to the victims of natural and other disasters. Grants from the Emergency Relief Fund are paid to eligible victims (or to their dependants in cases of death). Emergency relief was given to 182 victims on 10 occasions during the year.

The Social Security Appeal Board considers appeals against the SWD's decisions concerning CSSA, SSA and TAVA. It heard 203 appeals during the year.

The basic principle underlying services for the elderly is to provide senior citizens with a sense of security, a sense of belonging and a feeling of health and self-respect. The Government encourages and facilitates older people to lead an active and healthy life. For those who need long-term care but who wish to stay at home, there is a range of home-based and centre-based community care services. Older people who need long-term care but who cannot be adequately taken care of at home are provided with subsidised residential care services.

The department has been operating the Opportunities for the Elderly Project since 1999. It provides subsidies to community organisations to plan and run programmes to promote a sense of worth among the elderly and enhance community care and support services so that they can continue to live at home and maintain their maximum level of functioning. During the year, 285 programmes were launched with grants amounting to $2.7 million.

By the end of the year, more than a million Senior Citizen Cards had been issued. A total of 8 184 companies, organisations and government departments with 14 737 units and outlets, and 1 873 medical units with 2 096 branches participated in the card scheme to provide concessions, discounts and priority services to senior citizens.

At year-end, there were more than 210 centres for the elderly (including district elderly community centres, social centres for the elderly and neighbourhood elderly centres), 120 elderly services teams (including district-based integrated home-care services teams, enhanced home and community care services teams, support teams for the elderly and a home help team), 50 day care centres/units, and one holiday centre for the elderly. Support is also provided for their care-givers.

Subsidised residential care places for the elderly totalled 26 976 by the end of the year, including 7 398 subsidised self-care hostel places and home-for-the-aged places, 11 587 subsidised care-and-attention home places, 1 765 subsidised nursing home places, and 6 226 purchased places in private residential care homes.

To meet the growing care needs of the elderly, the SWD will gradually convert existing self-care and home-for-the-aged places into care-and-attention places providing a continuum of care. The conversion programme started in June 2005, and is to be implemented in phases.

The Government is committed to enhancing the quality of residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs). As the licensing authority, the department adopts a three-pronged approach; it is responsible for licensing control, capacity-building and monitoring and enforcement. The Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance and its subsidiary regulations provide for the regulation of RCHEs through a licensing system. The SWD has adopted a new arrangement to make public the names of RCHEs convicted under the ordinance or regulations on or after December 15, 2005, as a means to enhance consumers' access to information and RCHEs' vigilance over licensing requirements. The department has also implemented the revised Code of Practice for Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) October 2005, which provides more updated guidelines to RCHEs on a wide range of subjects relating to their operation, including infection control and quality of care.

Government departments and NGOs provide a variety of rehabilitation services to meet the different needs of people with disabilities, with the objective of integrating them into society and helping them to fully develop their capabilities. These services are coordinated by the Commissioner for Rehabilitation on the advice of the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee.

Integrated programme places provided by NGOs in ordinary kindergarten-cum-child care centres totalled 1 854 by the end of the year. They also provided 1 344 special child care centre places (inclusive of 102 residential places) and 1 957 early education and training centre places for pre-school disabled children. An enhanced training programme with input from clinical psychologists was provided for autistic children in special child care centres. In addition, NGOs provided 56 small group home places for school-age mentally handicapped children requiring residential service.

The Marketing Consultancy Office (Rehabilitation) of the SWD provides assistance in the marketing and business development of sheltered workshops and supported employment services. In 2005, 1 655 supported employment places were provided for people with disabilities able to work in open settings assisted by counselling and support services with the aim of promoting integration into society. In addition, 432 On-the-Job Training Programme for People with Disabilities places and 311 places for disabled young people under the Sunnyway programme were made available to assist disabled job seekers secure employment. Those not yet ready to compete in the open job market were provided with 5 138 sheltered workshop places to help them develop work skills.

The 453 places in integrated vocational training centres and 2 914 places in integrated vocational rehabilitation services centres, were provided to give a series of integrated and seamless vocational training and rehabilitation services. Under the 'Enhancing Employment of People with Disabilities through Small Enterprises' Project — which aims to assist NGOs set up small businesses employing disabled people —35 businesses from 20 NGOs were approved for funding. These businesses were expected to create around 480 jobs, of which 340 would be for people with disabilities. There were 4 033 day activity centre places for mentally handicapped people provided during the year to train the handicapped to be more independent in their daily lives and 230 training and activity centre places for ex-mentally ill people to help them to readjust to community living. Five social clubs for ex-mentally ill people and 17 social and recreational centres for others with disabilities were set up to encourage their participation in the community through various leisure activities.

As for residential services, 5 891 hostel and home places, and 289 supported hostel places for people with disabilities who could neither live independently nor be adequately cared for by their families were provided during the year. Elderly blind people unable to look after themselves adequately, or in need of care and attention, were provided with 811 places in care-and-attention homes. For chronic and ex-mentally ill patients, there were 1 005 long stay care home places and 1 429 halfway house places.

Professional back-up services from clinical psychologists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists are provided for people with disabilities in rehabilitation day centres and hostels. A speech therapy service is also provided for disabled children attending pre-school rehabilitation centres. In addition, there are other support services, including home-based training and support services for mentally handicapped and severely disabled persons; a community mental health link and after-care service for those who have graduated from halfway houses; and a community rehabilitation network for people with visceral disability or chronic illness. A residential respite service for disabled adults, occasional child care service for disabled pre-schoolers and six parents' resource centres are also provided to meet the special needs of families with disabled members.

Medical social workers provide patients and their families with individual and group counselling, financial aid, housing assistance or referral to other community resources to facilitate their treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration into society. To provide easy access to patients and their family members, medical social workers are stationed in public hospitals and some specialist clinics so that immediate advice and assistance can be given to those in need. During the year, 157 594 cases received services from 349 medical social workers.

The SWD administers the Trust Fund for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The fund was established to provide special ex gratia relief payment for eligible families of deceased SARS patients and ex gratia financial assistance for eligible recovered SARS patients or eligible 'suspected' SARS patients treated with steroids who are suffering from longer term effects, attributable to SARS (including the effects of medication received), which might have resulted in some degree of relevant dysfunction. By year-end, a total of 1 115 applications were received, involving 318 deceased cases and 797 from recovered/suspected SARS patients. Of these, 883 applications have been approved, involving $123 million.

Under related ordinances, the department discharges statutory functions and provides community-based and residential services to help offenders reintegrate into the community and become law-abiding citizens.

The probation service serves offenders aged 10 and above. Probation officers assess the offenders' suitability for probation supervision and make recommendations to the courts. They also monitor probationers' compliance with probation orders. During the year, 2 364 offenders were placed on probation. Probation officers also prepare reports on long-term prisoners and petition cases for consideration of early release.

Offenders aged 14 or above and convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment may be placed on Community Service Orders which require offenders to perform unpaid community work. During the year, 1 674 offenders were put under such orders.

Six residential homes, with a total capacity of 380 places, provide educational, prevocational and character training for juvenile offenders as well as children and young persons with behavioural or family problems.

The Young Offender Assessment Panel, jointly operated by the SWD and the Correctional Services Department (CSD), provides the courts with coordinated professional views on sentencing options for offenders aged 14 to 24. The Post-Release Supervision of Prisoners Scheme, another joint service of the SWD and the CSD, assists discharged prisoners in their rehabilitation and reintegration into the community. During the year, 475 ex-prisoners were placed under supervision. One NGO is subvented to provide hostel and supportive services for ex-offenders.

The overall objective of welfare services for young people is to help those aged between six and 24 develop into mature, responsible and contributing members of society through a range of preventive, supportive and remedial services.

At year-end, 133 Integrated Children and Youth Services Centres were providing children and youth centre services, outreach social work services, school social work services and, where possible, family life education under one management to address the changing needs of young people in an integrated and holistic manner. Eighteen of the centres with additional resources also provided overnight outreach services to address the needs of young night drifters. With joint funding from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and the Lotteries Fund, the third phase of the modernisation programme of integrated children and youth services centres was launched during the year to improve the physical environment and provide modern furniture and equipment designed to be more appealing to contemporary youngsters.

By the end of the year, 489 secondary schools were each provided with a school social worker to identify and help students with academic, social and emotional problems, maximise their educational opportunities, develop their potential and prepare them for responsible adulthood. Sixteen District Youth Outreaching Social Work Teams provided services to address the needs of high-risk youths and deal with juvenile gang issues.

To promote the holistic development of adolescents into responsible young adults, a four-year project funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Scheme, was launched in 52 secondary schools in the 2005-06 school year. After an initial experimental phase, the $400 million scheme will be implemented in full in the 2006-07 school year.

The Community Support Services Scheme (CSSS) assists young people who have broken the law or are at risk. During the year, six CSSS teams, one operated by the department and five by NGOs, provided services to the targeted clientele.

With a view to strengthening the services for youths at risk and those who have committed crimes, $23 million was allocated to the 18 integrated children and youth services centres with extended services for young night drifters and five CSSS teams operated by NGOs. The additional resources will enable further development of these services to respond to the changing needs of young people at risk.

During the year, the department and the Police Force completed a review of the family conference mechanism for juveniles cautioned under the Police Superintendent's Discretion Scheme. Family conferences — where social workers, police officers, teachers and the parents of the juveniles discuss and agree on treatment plans — will continue to be used as a measure to meet the needs of youths at risk and will be extended to serve those aged below 10.

The department has adopted a varied approach to providing drug treatment and rehabilitation services for young drug abusers. At year-end, the department was subventing 14 voluntary drug treatment and rehabilitation centres/halfway houses, five counselling centres for psychotropic substance abusers and two social clubs for ex-drug abusers. Under the requirements of the Drug Dependent Persons Treatment and Rehabilitation Centres (Licensing) Ordinance, 31 certificates of exemption and nine licences valid for drug dependence treatment centres had been issued or renewed by year-end.

To enhance cooperation among youth services, 17 Local Committees on Services for Young People, chaired by the District Social Welfare Officers, coordinate the provision of youth services at district level.