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Six existing correctional/residential homes operated by the Social Welfare Department will be merged to form a new home for children and juveniles in Tuen Mun, scheduled to be completed by the end of next month, a spokesman for the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said today (October 25).
These six homes are: the Ma Tau Wai Girls' Home, the Pui Chi Boys' Home, the Begonia Road Juvenile Home, the Fanling Girls' Home, the Sha Tin Boys' Home and the O Pui Shan Boys' Home.
Upon completion of the new home, juveniles in these six homes will be moved into the new home in phases, with the entire removal exercise estimated to be completed by August next year.
With the impending exercise, the Government needs to introduce technical legislative amendments to replace references to the six relevant existing homes by the new home under the subsidiary legislation of five ordinances.
"The new home will need to be listed in the five ordinances by November 30 to tie in with its anticipated completion.
"To allow a buffer for any unforeseen incidents resulting in delay in the removal exercise, removing references to the six existing homes from the subsidiary legislation of the ordinances is proposed for December 31 next year, which is four months after the scheduled completion of the removal exercise," the spokesman said.
The proposed legislative amendments will be gazetted on October 27 and will be tabled at the Legislative Council on November 1.
The Finance Committee in 2003 approved the Government's application for $330 million to construct a new residential training home to provide better rehabilitative services for young offenders and maladjusted juveniles under statutory care and supervision. The home will modernise the facilities of the existing homes, reduce operating costs, enhance flexibility in staff deployment and improve service quality.
Ends/Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Issued at HKT 14:14
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