In order to use for reference of the experience from Hong Kong day care services for the disabled and the social welfare system, and to speed up the service of Nanjing day care centers, the managers grouped with 21 people of daycare service from each district went to Hong Kong and received the assembly training from June 7th to June 12th. The lecture was given by the Hong Kongsenior social worker, Dr. Wu Jianxin. He systematically talked about the Service Quality System (SQS) ofHong Kongday care services, the government’s purchase of the non-governmental services, social work, services for the mentally-retarded and other related courses. After that, we were led to visit the Neighborhood Advice-Action Council Harmony Manor,WJCSYuenLongDistrictSupportCenter,RehabilitationCenter, Social Service Center and etc. This 6-day training integrated the theory and practice comprehensively, systematically and professionally. We benefitted a lot from this training as follows.

I.     The Working Situation of Hong Kong Day Care Centers

1.    Good Operation Mode ofHong KongSocial Welfare System

The Hong Kong Government takes the major responsibility for the social welfare construction and other Non-Governmental Volunteer Organizations and Charities gradually transformed from charitable services provider into professional welfare provider. Then there came a highly professional, diversified and complete service system. The HK government also encourages the government purchase for the public services. Currently, the non-governmental social welfare agencies have become the key role inHong Kongsocial welfare and at the meantime, 80% of the NGO funds are sponsored by the government. In the way of government purchase, the social welfare agencies and private-owned agencies can get the right to host through the competitive bid. Then the agency which wins the bidding will undertake the daily operation, the government provides the necessary places and most of the decoration expenses, and monitors the service performances.

2.    The status quo of services for the disabled people in HK

The services for the disabled people includes Day Acting Center, Community-Based Rehabilitation, sheltered workshops, Special Training & Care for the Disabled Children, Home-Based Training, Social & Recreational Service, Paramedical Support Service, Residential Care Service and Special Traffic and Transport Service. What’s more, the physically and mentally disabled people are entitled to have the disabilities allowance. The Government and volunteer agencies also provide them with educational, training, vocational rehabilitation, medical and day care services. According to the special needs, the government leads the NGOs to open different service agencies, and encourages them to offer personalized services. For instance, the Day Acting Centers can provide day care, and daily life and basic working skills training to the mentally-retarded people who cannot work in the sheltered workshops, therefore make them more independent and integrate themselves into the society.

3.    Lump Sum Grant Mode

The Hong Kong Government, through the Lump Sum Grant Mode, sponsors the Social Intermediary Organizations, and provides them with sufficient resources that can ensure the function of these organizations. The Government’s transition from monitoring the resources into monitoring service quality brings more flexibility to these organizations when they are dealing with the service resources. The staff who serve the disabled people entitled the same pay as the civil servants.

Every mentally-retarded who works in the sheltered workshop can get HK$ 20 every day paid by the Government. This action not only helps these private-owned organizations without the worries behind, but also reflects the progress of civilization of the society.

4.    Service Performance Monitoring System

With the clear service performance standard and a set of systematic evaluation mechanism, the day care organizations ensure the quality of service. This Monitoring System consists of the following 3 aspects, agreement in allowance and service, Service Quality Standards, and Service Quality Assessment. Currently, the SQS contents 19 items, providing the definition of social welfare and service quality in order to make the standard, establish the system of inspection and assessment.

II.    The Inspiration for the improvement of Nanjing Day Care Centers

Hong Kong has achieved huge accomplishment in the day care service for the disabled people, and the key factor mainly lies in the large amounts of organizations and the clear and professional division of labour. All in all, the accomplishment results from the Hong Kong Government’s support and establishing of professional social workers.

1.    Policy Preference, Socialized Rehabilitation Service

The Day Care Service for the Disabled People should first be the Government-Oriented, and then support the development of the NGOs that can offer day care services for disabled people. That’s what we call “Socialized Rehabilitation Service”. The Government should apply the policy preference, thus encourage the social groups, individuals and foreign funds to sponsor social welfare undertake.

Meanwhile, the government also needs to set down the administration and service standard in this industry, then support the NGOs’ development as well as strengthen the management of the current day care organizations.

We should work out the unified standard in organization development, personnel qualification, service quality, service targets, service contents, technique requirements, referral, regulations and etc. so that, our day care centers for the disabled can be standardized.

2.    Strengthen the building of professional team-social workers for the Day Care Services

In order to improve the specialization of day care services, the government should gradually launch the education in day care services, train a team of professional social workers to advance the specialization of personnel.

For those organizations and people employed by these organizations, the official certificate should be required. In the aspect of education and training, we should learn the advanced experience fromHong Kong, to carry out social education and training during the spare time and hold training courses for professional workers of all kinds, so that we can promote the daycare service for the disabled to specialization.

3.    Increase in Fiscal Expenditure and Expand Social Funds aggressively.

The Government should expand the day care service areas, and gradually increase the fiscal expenditure in disabled people services and day care services as well as the increasing support to the non-governmental organizations, meanwhile, try to broaden the sources of income, and establish the policy that can stimulate the donation for the disabled people services step by step. Through the method of setting of social welfare funds, policy making to draw and encourage the donations from society, and boost private capital into social welfare; to expand the resource of operating expense for daycare centers, so that promotes the sustainable development of service for the disabled. In the meantime, to make out the strict and effective supervising system in raising and allocation the funds and detailed expenditure to secure the money is used reasonable and completed in function

So that, we can make the donors trust in us, and to form a good environment for the social donation.