Social Welfare 213
Through its sub-committee on public education the RAC co-ordinates the implementation of various public education programmes on rehabilitation. In 2010, 38 public education programmes were organised by various government and NGOs under the theme 'All-round promotion of the spirit of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and cross sectoral collaboration towards building an equal and inclusive society'. Territory-wide publicity activities were also launched to support World Mental Health Day and the International Day of Disabled Persons.
Since 2008, the RAC has also reached out to different sectors, including the 18 District Councils, the business and the welfare sectors to promote the working capabilities of persons with disabilities and the employment support services provided by Government departments and rehabilitation organisations for persons with disabilities as well as solicit support for tripartite partnerships. These efforts received positive responses from the welfare organisations, the District Councils and the business sector.
With the application to Hong Kong since August 31, 2008 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the RAC has also taken on the new role of assisting the Government in promoting and monitoring the implementation of the convention in Hong Kong.
Community Care Fund
The Chief Executive announced in his 2010-11 Policy Address the establishment of the Community Care Fund (CCF), to which the Government and the business sector will each contribute $5 billion. The CCF's main objective is to provide assistance to people facing economic difficulties, especially those who fall outside the social safety net or who are within the safety net but have special needs that are not covered. The CCF would take forward measures on a pilot basis to help the Government identify steps that could be incorporated in the Government's regular assistance and service programmes. The CCF is a trust fund established under the Secretary for Home Affairs (SHA) Incorporation Ordinance with the SHA Incorporated as its trustee.
The Chief Executive has appointed a Steering Committee to oversee and co-ordinate the CCF's work. The committee is composed of 20 non-official members drawn from various fields including business, welfare, education, health, labour, political and district sectors, as well as four official members.
The committee convened its first meeting in December and set up an Executive Committee and four Sub-committees (Education, Home Affairs, Medical and Welfare). The Executive Committee makes recommendations to the Steering Committee concerning the target beneficiaries, the programmes to be funded, the amount to be disbursed and other administrative and financial matters. The sub- committees will consider the types of programmes to be funded and their relative priorities, implement the programmes endorsed by the Steering Committee, and evaluate the programmes' effectiveness. The Steering Committee has been collecting