Social_Welfare_Annual_Report_1963-1964 — Page 11

specific services which are described in later chapters; voluntary effort continues its traditional function of pioneering in fresh directions as well as providing many institutions, vocational training, supplementary relief, and a great variety of other services.

RECENT TRENDS

7. At the present moment the three developments which seem most important to the social workers within the Department, the precise significance of which the reader is invited to judge for himself from the pages that follow, are-

Signs of the first long-awaited acceptance by the leaders of public opinion that the social worker has a leading part to play within the circle of the social services as a professional person on a par with the doctor and teacher, a part which is comparable with that of the psychiatrist in the sector of medicine; this change is mirrored in the rapidly developing role of professional casework in the Department, and in a number of voluntary bodies also;

the growing number of specialized institutions which the Depart- ment is directly responsible for administering; four such have opened their doors during the year;

and the beginning of public recognition that the community development programme, based on the community and social centres, is a valuable influence for the creation of stability in the unique society that is Hong Kong.

STRUCTURE

8. The Department is divided into functional sections, each of which is headed by a Principal Social Welfare Officer, a professional officer with long experience and often specialized training in his or her particular field. Each Principal Officer is responsible on professional matters to an Assistant Director who is a professional social worker, and on administra- tive matters to an Assistant Director who is a member of the administra- tive service. A detailed account is given in the relevant chapter of this report of the functions of each of the seven Sections; these are--

the Youth Welfare Section

(including community organization);

the Probation Section

(including correctional institutions);

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