and so to the greater economic and social prosperity of the community as a whole; in other words, on precisely those constructive functions which the social work profession itself exists to fulfil within its own field. As this introduction seeks to emphasize, there is all the difference in the world between the methods and results of pre-war charity and of present social work practice.
THE SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT
5. The executive responsibility for arriving at the official welfare objective rests upon the Social Welfare Department, which became an independent Grade I department in 1958 after ten years as a Sub-Depart- ment of the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs. The Director of Social Welfare has many statutory functions and powers, set out in the Ordinances relating to social welfare, a list of which is at Appendix 2. He is also the Chairman of the Social Welfare Advisory Committee, the Advisory Committee on Social Work Training, the Social Work Training Fund Committee and the Community Relief Trust Fund Committee; all but the first of these committees have been established since 1962, the last two by statute; composition and terms of reference of these Committees are detailed in Appendix 3. As well as administering statutory require- ments for the care and protection of children and young persons, adoption, probation and juvenile correctional institutions, the Department makes direct provision for a minimum of public assistance to relieve destitution; tries to alleviate or to prevent the causes of dependency, so as to reduce the extent of destitution; helps the handicapped to fit themselves as far as humanly possible for independent life; and aims to help people living together as groups, especially the dense populations of the new towns or resettlement estates which have not grown up as natural communities, to develop a sense of community and to use well their hard-won and limited leisure time.
6. The Department dovetails its operations as often as is practicable with those of the voluntary agencies, which were the pioneers of social welfare work and continue to provide most valuable and often essential services. Much of this voluntary effort is now subvented from public funds, as Appendix 4 shows. Very broadly the Department is responsible for those functions within the welfare field which are required by statute, for basic services such as public assistance or registration of the handi- capped, and for liaison with voluntary agencies, besides certain other
4
Page 10Page 11