ENG-1973 — Page 160

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Social Welfare

THE passage of the White Paper 'Social Welfare in Hong Kong: The Way Ahead' and its accompanying five year plan through the Legislative Council in April 1973 marked an important step in the development of social welfare in Hong Kong.

The White Paper and the five year plan_were the result of joint efforts of the Social Welfare Department and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, and represented a concensus of opinion achieved in partnership between the department and the voluntary sector on how social welfare in Hong Kong should develop in the 1970s. The White Paper contains firm guidelines for development of the public and voluntary sector, enabling both sides to make detailed forward plans in a way that was not possible in the past. It also contains specific programmes formulated with particular reference to the needs of Hong Kong within its political and economic environment, its changing social patterns and its predominantly urban setting. These programmes cover a balanced social security system, community development with emphasis on youth, facilities for the disabled, aid to the elderly, rehabilitation of young offenders and probationers, welfare services for families with problems, and effective supportive services in training, planning, research and evaluation.

Implementation of the five year plan which spans the period between 1973 and 1978 will entail a total capital expenditure of about $50 million. The recurrent cost will rise from about $117 million a year in 1973 to $190 million in 1978. The total expenditure over the five years will be about $798 million, the major portion of which will be borne by the government.

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The Social Welfare Department is responsible for carrying out government policies for social welfare, and it operates through nine divisions-the group and community work division, which aims at the development of coherent groups and social responsibility; the family services division, which is responsible for a wide range of social welfare services to help individuals and families; the probation and correc- tions division, which provides social services for the courts and rehabilitation in its correctional institutions for young offenders; the rehabilitation division, which is concerned with services for the disabled, and the social security division, which is responsible for the administration of public assistance and other social security schemes. Also the training section, which is responsible for in-service training and staff development programmes; the planning and development unit, which is responsi- ble for planning and co-ordination of welfare services; the research and evaluation unit, which is responsible for social welfare research, evaluation of services and statistical matters; and the public relations unit.