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LCQ4: Support services for persons with disabilities
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     Following is a question by the Hon Wong Sing-chi and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (June 2):

Question:

     Some organisations have relayed to me that the services currently provided by the Government to persons with disabilities are inadequate, including the provision of opportunities for continuing education, employment assistance, places available in sheltered workshops, and support to family carers, etc.  In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

(a) whether they know, in each of the past five years, the number of persons with intellectual disability (ID) who managed to pursue continuing education after completing their education in special schools; of the number of persons with ID who were not able to receive continuing education because of the lack of financial assistance (such as the Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes, the Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students and other relevant loan schemes), as well as the reasons for their not receiving financial assistance; whether there is any financial assistance scheme exclusively for persons with ID; of the number of cases in which persons with ID succeeded in seeking employment under the assistance of the Selective Placement Division of the Labour Department, and the reasons why the others who sought assistance did not succeed in seeking employment;

(b) of the current number of places provided by all the sheltered workshops in Hong Kong and the average waiting time for admission to such workshops; of the number of places provided by the Government in sheltered workshops for severely physically handicapped persons in the past five years, as well as the number of persons on the waiting list at present; of the timetable for the commissioning of additional Day Activity Centres (including those located in West Kowloon); and

(c) of the percentage of carers of persons with ID among the service users of District Support Centres for Persons with Disabilities, Parents/Relatives Resource Centres for Disabled Persons and Community-based Support Projects for Persons with Disabilities and their Families in each of the past five years, together with a breakdown by District Council district?

Reply:

President,

     The overall objective of the rehabilitation policy in Hong Kong is to help persons with disabilities (PWDs) develop their physical and mental capabilities as well as their ability to integrate into the community through a comprehensive range of effective measures.  This is to ensure that PWDs can participate in full and enjoy equal opportunities both in terms of their social life and personal growth.  We will continue to provide PWDs and their carers with suitable service and support according to the strategic development directions set out in the 2007 Hong Kong Rehabilitation Programme Plan.  My reply to the different parts of Hon Wong Sing-chi's question regarding provision of continuing education, employment and vocational rehabilitation for PWDs, as well as community support for carers, is as follows:

(a) The policy objective of special education is to provide an appropriate learning environment for students with special educational needs so as to facilitate their education and help them develop their potential to the full, thereby enhancing their independent living and adaptation skills and enabling them to integrate into the community.  Having completed education in schools for children with intellectual disability (ID schools), students will pursue other education/training opportunities or receive rehabilitation service having regard to their abilities, specific needs, temperament and interest.  According to the information collected by the Education Bureau from the ID schools, in the past five years, an average of about 45% of the school leavers from the ID schools received vocational training.  A majority of them received training from the Skills Centres under the Vocational Training Council (VTC) and the Integrated Vocational Training Centres subvented by the Social Welfare Department (SWD).  A small number of them received training from the "Pro-Act by VTC" or the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education under VTC.  The number of students with ID receiving such training is set out at Annex.  The remaining school leavers mainly received vocational rehabilitation training, day training service and/or residential care service, etc in Sheltered Workshops (SWs)/ Integrated Vocational Rehabilitation Service Centres (IVRSCs), Day Activity Centres (DACs) and residential care homes for PWDs subvented by SWD.

     If the courses pursued by the school leavers of the ID schools are covered by the financial assistance schemes administered by the Student Financial Assistance Agency (SFAA), and the students meet the relevant eligibility criteria, they can receive financial assistance.  Although SFAA does not administer any scheme to provide assistance exclusively for persons with ID, all students (including persons with ID) can receive financial assistance if they meet the eligibility criteria of the relevant financial assistance schemes of SFAA.  The Government does not have any record on the number of persons with ID who are not able to receive continuing education because of the lack of student financial assistance and the reasons involved.

     In respect of the assistance to job-seekers with disabilities (including job-seekers with ID) provided by the Labour Department (LD), the Selective Placement Division (SPD) of LD registered an average of around 730 job-seekers with ID each year in the past five years.  Of these, around 670 placements were achieved annually.  For instance, SPD registered 696 job seekers with ID and 673 placements were secured in 2009.  According to SPD's experience, whether placement of job-seeker with ID can be successful depends on the circumstances of individual case and many other factors, for example, the experience and skills of the job-seekers, interview performance and self-confidence and competition from other job-seekers, etc.  In this regard, to enhance the competitiveness of job-seekers with disabilities (including job-seekers with ID), SPD helps improve their understanding on job search strategies, interviewing techniques and interpersonal/communication skills through pre-employment training.  In addition, to increase the employment opportunities of job-seekers with disabilities, SPD also assists them in acquiring the latest labour market information and steps up effort in promoting employment for PWDs to employers.  To this end, since 2005, SPD has implemented the "Work Orientation and Placement Scheme" to offer financial incentive to employers so as to encourage them to employ PWDs through a trial placement.

(b) In providing employment support, relevant Government departments and organisations strive to provide PWDs (including persons with ID) with a wide range of vocational rehabilitation, training and employment services so as to equip them with skills that meet market requirements and assist them in securing employment commensurate with their abilities.  Apart from the employment services provided by LD, the three Skill Centres of VTC offer free full-time training courses for PWDs aged 15 or above who are assessed as having the ability to work in the open market.  Furthermore, the Employees Retraining Board offers retraining courses for PWDs aged 15 or above with education level at sub-degree or below.  These courses are free of charge and training allowance is provided.  SWD also provides PWDs with free day training and vocational rehabilitation services to improve their social adjustment ability and enhance their social and vocational skills.  PWDs who reach the age of 15 can apply for suitable services through referrals by school social workers, medical social workers, family caseworkers or staff of rehabilitation service units.

     SWD provides various vocational rehabilitation services including vocational rehabilitation services in SWs which aims to cater for PWDs who are not yet able to take up open employment. With appropriate vocational training in a specially designed work environment, PWDs can learn to adapt to normal work requirements, develop social skills and relationships, and prepare for potential advancement to supported and open employment.

     As at March 2010, SWD provided a total of 5,133 SW places.  SWD will also provide 420 additional places of IVRSCs in 2010-11 to provide PWDs with one-stop service, including SW service and Supported Employment service.  In 2009-10, the average waiting time for SWs was about 14 months.  Since the target group of SW covers persons with varying disabilities (including persons with ID and persons with physical disability), SWD's computerised systems do not capture data in relation to the disability types of service users and applicants on the waiting list.

     Apart from the SW service, SWD also provides day care service and training on daily living and simple work skills for persons with ID in DACs so as to help them become more independent in daily living and prepare them for more comprehensive integration into the community.  As at March 2010, SWD provided a total of 4,495 DAC places.  In 2010-11, there will be an additional provision of 137 places, of which 82 are in the Western Kowloon region.

(c) SWD set up 16 District Support Centres (DSCs) for PWDs in 2009 to strengthen the support and training for PWDs and their carers, thereby enhancing the caring capability of carers, relieving their burden and stress and improving their quality of life.  Together with Parents/Relatives Resource Centres (PRCs) and community-based support projects, these 16 DSCs aim at providing more comprehensive community support services for PWDs and their carers.  

     As at March 2010, the total registered family members for the 6 PRCs were around 4,800 persons, including persons with ID and persons with physical disability, as well as their families. SWD's computerised systems do not capture data in relation to the disability types of service users and applicants on the waiting list.  As there is no service quota system for DSCs and community-based support projects for PWDs, carers can directly approach the service units for participating in their activities and receiving services.  Hence, we do not have statistics on the number of users of the relevant services.

Ends/Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Issued at HKT 14:47

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