|
Based on the findings of the evaluative study of 15 pilot Integrated
Family Service Centre (IFSC) projects which adopted the 'child-centred,
family-focused and community-based' approach, a consensus was reached
between the SWD and the social service sector that the IFSCs represent
an effective mode of service delivery in terms of service accessibility,
ability to reach out to at-risk families, partnership with community organisations
and agencies, and users' participation and satisfaction. The department
is poised to fully re-engineer the family services by converting Family
Services Centres into IFSCs in order to better meet the changing needs
of the community.
Measures to enhance the provision of timely services
for individuals or families in crisis situations were also put in place.
These measures include setting up a three-year pilot Suicide Crisis Intervention
Centre providing round-the-clock outreaching service and intervention
for those in a crisis or at high/moderate suicidal risk. In addition,
a quick link has been provided between the Departmental Hotline Service
Unit and the Family Crisis Support Centre. To further facilitate timely
intervention in family violence cases, the department and the Hong Kong
Police Force implemented a new referral procedure in January so that domestic
violence cases can be brought to the department's attention for early
intervention. Publicity and public education based on the central theme
of Strengthening Families and Combating Violence continued during the
year.
Under the impact of the SARS outbreak and the continuing economic downturn,
the number of unemployment cases receiving Comprehensive Social Security
Assistance (CSSA) surged from 40 513 at end-2002 to 50 118 at end-2003.
While the Government is committed to providing a safety net for those
least able to help themselves, to ease the significant rise in CSSA unemployment
cases, intensified measures were introduced to strengthen the Support
for Self-reliance Scheme. Employable CSSA recipients are provided with
more targeted employment assistance including direct job matching. Community
work requirements have been further enhanced to help recipients develop
work habits and to contribute to society. More NGOs have been commissioned
to run intensive employment assistance projects. To encourage CSSA recipients
to find and stay in employment and to increase the incentive to work,
the maximum level of disregarded earnings under the CSSA scheme has been
raised.
To provide greater service integration and eliminate duplication, and
provide a service infrastructure that will be more responsive to the changing
needs of elders, a major exercise to re-engineer community support services
for elders was launched in August 2002. As a result, a range of community
units was upgraded with effect from April 1, 2003 to provide expanded
functions and integrated services. These units now comprise 40 District
Elderly Community Centres, 110 Neighbourhood Elderly Centres and 60 district-based
Integrated Home Care Services Teams.
The department participated actively and extensively in various aspects
of work in combating the SARS outbreak, ranging from promoting environmental
hygiene in welfare services units to offering assistance to individuals
and families directly affected.
Guidelines to promote environmental hygiene and to
advise on contingency arrangements in case of an infection were drawn
up and distributed to residential social services. As part of the precautionary
measures against SARS, face masks were distributed to vulnerable groups,
through services units. With a special funding allocation, resources were
utilised to assist elderly day service units, residential care homes for
elders and persons with disabilities, drug treatment centres as well as
child care centres in taking measures to prevent the spread of SARS, and
to improve environmental hygiene.
Operation CARE was among the initiatives taken by
the Administration to relieve the impact of SARS on the economy through
the creation of temporary jobs while strengthening social cohesiveness
and fostering a spirit of mutual care within the community. This project
aimed at improving the general household environment of elders and other
vulnerable groups so as to boost their resistance against contagious diseases
by having their homes cleansed, and minor household repairs done, by a
force of mainly young workers engaged on a short-term basis. Some 4
500 job opportunities were created for this task. A total of 42
NGOs, local bodies and labour federations, comprising 73 units, were commissioned
to take part in the operation. Over 150 000 elders and vulnerable
groups benefited from the household cleansing service, and over 70
000 elders and vulnerable families-in-need received the household
repairs service.
In addition, assistance and support in the form of
counselling and urgent financial assistance were rendered by social workers
and clinical psychologists to SARS patients and their families. The department
also provided transitional residential placements for children and elders
without adequate support upon hospitalisation of their care-givers and
temporary accommodation for discharged SARS patients who could not return
home immediately.
The department also oversaw the provision of both
tangible and psychosocial support to people placed under confinement in
their own homes or in the holiday camps designated as isolation centres.
The wide range of support rendered by the department and some NGOs included
delivery of meals, provision of daily necessities, arrangements for child
care, emergency financial assistance, and psychological support/intervention
through hotlines. The department was designated to administer a $150 million
Trust Fund for SARS which the Government established in November to provide
special ex gratia assistance on compassionate grounds for individuals
or families affected by the unprecedented outbreak between March and June.
Besides providing special ex gratia relief payment for eligible
families of deceased SARS patients, the Trust Fund also provides special
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 188 applications had been approved,
involving $64.6 million. The department has also been entrusted to administer
two non-government funds, namely the 'Business Community Relief Fund for
Victims of SARS' and the 'We Care Education Fund' initiated by the business
sector and the civil service sector respectively, and to allocate grants
to eligible individuals or families. |
