The Social Welfare Department ( Chinese : 社會福利署 ) is a department of the Hong Kong Government responsible for providing welfare services to the community.
92-562: The department provides services to families and children, the elderly, recovering criminal offenders, drug abusers, street sleepers, persons with disabilities, the mentally ill, and the community at large. It administers social security schemes, including the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance , which forms a large portion of its annual expenses. The department operates community and social centres, and also once operated libraries. The forerunner of
184-423: A case-by-case basis, or may provide financial support to them by waiving their medical charges in public hospitals and referring them to receive social security benefits. In recent years, SWD introduced a Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programme, in which patients with financial need would be sponsored for expensive self-financed drug items that doctors deem necessary. In 2020-21, medical social workers handled
276-499: A factor in their eligibility. For example, a student applying for the CSSA may not work because of studying or having to look after sick family members. As of 30 September 2017, there are 234,292 cases of CSSA. Compared to 2014, there were 254,054 cases, marking it as a decrease. Of the 234,292 cases so far in 2017, 144,507 of those are related to those with old age, while 4,641 of those are due to low earnings. The table below lists all
368-503: A family responsibility is correct in theory." Long term plans in social welfare were introduced in the 1970s with double in social spending per capita between 1971 and 1974. Modeled from the British National Assistance Act , the 1971 public assistance scheme indicated the willingness of the government to take care the basic needs of those who are infirm and ill, which has not changed significantly throughout
460-495: A form of central psychological support to pre-school children with special education needs, and day-training and vocational rehabilitation centres to provide central support to those who are intellectually or physically disabled. SWD also provides emergency psychological support to those who suffer from unexpected catastrophes, such as providing consultation to those victims of the fire accident in Yau Ma Tei in 2020. In addition,
552-501: A huge caseload. In the study conducted by Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servants’ Association (HKCCSA), over half of the respondents have encountered mental problems due to the high working pressure. Eventually, it costed an average of 30 working days for processing a new case of CSSA (by field units), while it costed an average of 10 minutes before a CSSA's client is attended (in field units). Caseworkers have been criticised for their poor attitude when handling CSSA applications. The Office of
644-539: A package of services including a 24-hour hotline, emergency intervention with short-term accommodation and other support services. As at 31 March 2021, 88.5% of the service users indicated a positive response in overcoming their immediate family crises upon leaving the support centre. The SWD hotline has been operating on a 24-hour basis since October 2018, and in 2020-2021, the social workers of SWD (to listen to phone calls during normal office hours) had handled 49,123 calls with 6,758 of them requiring counselling service, while
736-440: A percentage of total public expenditure, as a whole, increased from 3.9% in 1992/3 to 7.25% in 2001/2, CSSA payments alone constituted the largest increase in social welfare expenditure, costing 2.6 of the total government recurrent expenditure in 1993/4 to 8.6% in 1999/2000. While the then Director of Social Welfare, Carrie Lam , remarked in 2001, "There is a consensus within the community that we do not wish to see Hong Kong become
828-555: A result of natural disasters, and grants from the fund are intended for relief instead of compensation. The SWD is only responsible for grants regarding personal injury or death, and other departments are responsible for other categories of grants. The fund is vested in the director of Social Welfare Incorporated as trustee. The committee is chaired by the Director of social welfare and some members are non-officials. (2) Family and Child Welfare The family and child welfare provided by
920-593: A result of the White Paper published by a Working Party in 1991 set up by Governor David Wilson , the public assistance scheme was renamed the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme in 1993 and its benefits were increased. The Working Party claimed to improve welfare "without creating the sort of dependency culture that has emerged in some industrial societies", it resisted to expand the welfare benefits along
1012-721: A result of the continual alarming increase in CSSA expenditure, the government released the CSSA Review Report titled ‘ Support for Self-reliance ’ for public consultation in December 1998 as well as published the Report on Review of the CSSA Scheme . The financial secretary, Donald Tsang , noted "we would only be able to meet the ever-growing demands within our overall expenditure constraints by re-examining policies and re-adjusting spending priorities. The modifications to
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#17327651563791104-661: A result, despite the severe setback in the second quarter from the impact of SARS, with unemployment cases rising sharply from 7.2% in the fourth quarter of 2002 to 8.7% in May–July 2003, the Hong Kong economy recovered and grew by 3.3 per cent, faster than the 2.3 per cent growth in 2002. However, expenditure on social welfare reduced, with the Executive Council approving a reduction of the standard rate of CSSA allowances by 11%. The Task Force on Population Policy set up by
1196-477: A right to social welfare benefits under the CSSA scheme." Furthermore, the CFA considered that this seven year residence requirement was inconsistent with the one-way permit policy implemented by the Hong Kong government to facilitate family reunions and also to alleviate the overall burden of population ageing. Indeed, welcoming new immigrants could help rejuvenating Hong Kong population. This shift in CSSA requirement
1288-817: A total of 198,400 cases. There are currently 491 medical social workers in SWD and the medical social workers can be classified into two types, namely those who work in general settings and those who work in psychiatric settings. The SWD seeks to develop the goal of 'one medical social worker for each patient' so that the medical social worker who has better understanding of the patient can conduct follow-up assessment without internal referral. (5) Rehabilitation Services SWD aims to provide an array of social rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities, including subvented pre-school rehabilitation services, day training services, residential care services, vocational rehabilitation services and community support services etc. Under
1380-631: A weapon in the execution of his duty. It is non-contributory and non-means-tested. Applicants are required to attend an interview at the CLEIC Section to provide relevant information and documentary proof. In 2020-21, a total of $ 8.39 million was paid out under the CLEIC Scheme to 303 cases, showing an upward trend throughout the years 2016 to 2021. TAVA Scheme The TAVA Scheme provides speedy financial assistance to road traffic accident victims (or to their dependents in cases of death). It
1472-561: A welfare state relying on heavy taxes, that there is a limit to how much the Government can spend and that the virtues of self-reliance, family cohesion and community support should be preserved, in Tung Chee-Hwa ’s 2000 Policy Address, he stressed that while social policy only operates as a safety net function, he acknowledges that the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis did make an impact on the community and pledged that he would focus on
1564-553: A year. However, after 2004, Hong Kong residents were only eligible to apply for CSSA after living in Hong Kong for seven years. This was in effect from 2004 to 2013. On 17 December 2013, this residence requirement was considered to be unconstitutional by the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (CFA) . Indeed, "the top court ruled that the seven-year residency rule breached Article 36 of the Basic Law, which says every citizen has
1656-411: Is a welfare programme in Hong Kong that provides supplementary payments to Hong Kong residents whose income is not sufficient to meet basic needs . The first public assistance scheme was first introduced in 1971 as the foundation of Hong Kong's social security system. Prior to 1971 the social relief was largely confined and temporary. The Social Welfare Department only came into existence in 1958 and
1748-496: Is a great burden for SSAs to strike a balance between entertaining the applicant's need and preventing any fraud and abuse. At a Policy Address in January 2017, then-Chief Executive, CY Leung , introduced several new amendments to the social welfare of Hong Kong. One of these included raising the eligibility age of the elderly from 60 to 65 years old to apply for CSSA. On the other hand, Elderly Health Care Vouchers age eligibility
1840-722: Is headed by a chief clinical psychologist, who is graded D1 in the SAR government structure. There are six different teams in charge of cases across different areas and locations in Hong Kong. Each team is headed by a senior clinical psychologist. (4) Medical Social Services In order to assist patients who suffer from trauma or illness to re-integrate into the society, SWD sends medical social workers to stations at public hospitals, child assessment centres, psychiatric hospitals etc to provide tangible and psychological support to those in need. For example, medical social workers may decide to provide counselling service to patients and their families on
1932-524: Is insufficient to meet their total monthly needs as recognised under the Scheme." Able-bodied individuals also have additional criteria to be considered for the CSSA. Those that are aged 15–59 with normal health conditions are deemed able-bodied. They must either earn more than HK$ 2,160 per month and work more than 120 hours per month, or be actively seeking work, and participating in the job-finding program. As well, their reason for being unable to work plays
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#17327651563792024-561: Is non-means tested, and does not consider the element of fault leading to the occurrence of the accident. Payments are made for personal injuries, yet loss of or damage to property is not covered. Applicants are required to attend an interview at the TAVA Section to provide relevant information and documentary proof. In 2020-21, a total of $ 409.09Mn was paid out under the TAVA Scheme to 14,826 cases, showing an upward trend throughout
2116-419: Is of increasing alarm to policy makers in Hong Kong is the highest increase in CSSA expenditure from HK$ 1.408 billion in the 1992/93 financial year to HK$ 14.407 billion in 2001/02, an increase of 9.6 times in an interval of eight years. Government expenditure on CSSA had increased from 31.6% of the total social security expenditure in Hong Kong in 1992/93 to 72.8% in 2001/02. Although social welfare expenditure as
2208-680: Is one of the NGOs with outreaching teams. The SWD also launched a 3-year Ethnic Minority District Ambassador Pilot Scheme in October 2020 to enhance services provided by district service units in 9 districts with higher ethnic minorities population. There are currently 46 Ethnic Minority District Ambassadors in Hong Kong. In the year 2020-2021, 2,645 new service users were contacted through outreaching successfully. Support for Street Sleepers The SWD had organised three integrated services teams for street sleepers, and 1,580 street sleepers were approached in
2300-473: Is responsible for the execution of CSSA, in which frontline caseworkers like Senior Social Security Assistant (SSSA) and Social Security Assistant (SSA) in the SSA rank are responsible for the investigation and assessment on CSSA cases. Workload of the SSA rank has been increasing over the years, with low increase in corresponding workforce. CSSA's recipients in 2010-2011 totalled 446,783, with 1,124 staff members in
2392-620: The Basic Law and ordered that the previous one-year requirement be reinstated. Though the allocation of CSSA is committing to the government regulations, the effectiveness of this social welfare, which aims to provide appropriate aid to the suitable clients, heavily depends on the frontline caseworkers who have close interaction with the applicants. As of November 2017, there are a total of 2,394 staff working under Social Security Branch in Social Welfare Department, which
2484-402: The Basic Law . In Carrie Lam ’s 2017 Policy Address, she states "We will continue to devote resources to poverty alleviation as well as support for the disadvantaged in order to build a caring and inclusive society." On using fiscal reserves wisely she notes, "Sound public finance and optimal use of public resources are key to good governance…I fully appreciate the requirements stipulated in
2576-459: The Mainland , and overseas countries. With that, a single able-bodied adult applying for the CSSA has an asset limit of HK$ 30,500, while a child, elder, disabled or ill-health individual's limit is HK$ 47,000. Any persons over the age of 60 is considered to be an elderly individual. For family households, an able-bodied adult or child's asset limit is HK$ 20,500, while four or more members would set
2668-500: The 2003 Policy Address by the HKSAR government, the principle of "big market, small government" was introduced by Tung Chee-hwa and restated in the 2009-10 Policy Address by Donald Tsang . Hong Kong's economic pragmatism towards social policy was reminiscent of the productivist welfare capitalism followed by other East Asian countries, with social policy being strictly subordinate to the overriding policy objective of economic growth. As
2760-470: The Article 107 in the Basic Law of Hong Kong stipulates that Hong Kong "shall follow the principle of keeping the expenditure within the limits of revenues in drawing up its budget, and strive to achieve a fiscal balance, avoid deficits and keep the budget commensurate with the growth rate of its gross domestic product". Increase in public expenditure is only possible when budget surplus is available, however
2852-497: The Basic Law of keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues and avoiding fiscal deficits as far as possible." Despite the last time the HKSAR government have fallen into a fiscal deficit was in 2003/4 and now currently holding a fiscal reserve in excess of HK$ 1,000 billion, the total CSSA caseload at the end of August stood at 234 930 with a total of 344,910 recipients, dropping from 253,054 cases and 381,307 recipients in 2014-15. While fiscal conservatism in Hong Kong stemmed from
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2944-424: The CSSA Scheme which aim at removing dependence on CSSA and encouraging able-bodied recipients to rejoin the workforce are introduced with this objective in mind. We cannot afford much longer double-digit growth in welfare spending each". HKSAR's goal to increase self-reliance and wean off those who rely on CSSA parallels with a global trend of reforming social security with a ‘welfare-to-work’ strategy as initiated by
3036-416: The CSSA cases by nature of the case from 2010 to September 2017. It is evident that the number of cases from each category have dropped gradually each year. One limb of the eligibility test for CSSA is the requirement of having been resident in Hong Kong for a certain number of years in the past, though not necessarily immediately before applying. Under the predecessor schemes to the CSSA, this requirement
3128-418: The CSSA, where members of the same family living under the same roof have to apply to CSSA as a single unit. One request for this entire household would then suffice and be taken into account: "If the applicant is living with any other family members, the application has to be made on a household basis. The total resources and needs of all family members in the same household are taken into account in determining
3220-509: The Central Referral System for Rehabilitation Services (CRSRehab), all target groups including physically and/or mentally handicapped persons, ex-mentally ill persons, persons with visual and/or hearing impairment etc. must be referred by social workers from medical social services units, integrated family services centres, special schools or rehabilitation service units in order to apply for day or residential services. With
3312-649: The Civil Service in Hong Kong, with 6266 civil servants working under it in 2021. For the year 2021-2022, it is estimated that the total expenditure of SWD would be $ 104.3 billion. SWD is organised into thirteen branches under the Director of Social Welfare. Among them, the Clinical Psychological Service Branch, Elderly Branch, Family and Child Welfare Branch, Planning and Development Branch, Rehabilitation and Medical Social Services Branch and Youth and Corrections Branch are under
3404-555: The Deputy Director of Social Welfare (Services). The other seven branches, namely the Administration Branch, Finance Branch, Human Resource Management Branch, Information Systems and Technology Branch, Licensing and Regulation Branch are under the Deputy Director of Social Welfare (Administration). There is also an Information and Public Relations Unit within SWD. SWD provides services to families and children,
3496-468: The Government's long-term commitment to improving people's livelihood." When compared to the 1997–98, expenditure on social welfare increased by about two-fold and CSSA expenditure increased from HK$ 9.4 billion in 1997/8 to HK$ 18.4 billion. However, in terms of CSSA expenditure as a percentage of total recurrent percentage, there was only a 0.2 increase, with CSSA expenditure accounting for 6.3% of total recurrent expenditure in 1997/8 and 6.5% in 2013/14. Since
3588-599: The Guangdong Scheme and Fujian Scheme which provides monthly allowance to Hong Kong residents who choose to reside in Guangdong or Fujian. In 2020-2021, the government had spent $ 38,166Mn on the SSA Scheme. CLEIC Scheme The CLEIC scheme provides financial awards to persons (or to their dependents in cases of death) who are injured as a result of a crime of violence, or by a law enforcement officer using
3680-677: The HKSAR government's new initiatives and expansion activities to welfare, health and housing. Although never claiming to be a welfare state , both the positive non-interventionist philosophy and the imperative to maintain a balanced budget have produced limited welfare provisions and a growing intensification of poverty for the elderly, unemployed and the working poor. Figure 1: Statistics on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, 1997/98-2014/15 However, in Tung Chee-hwa 's first policy address in October 1997, he announced that his 'Administration will work to improve conditions for
3772-520: The Hong Kong government received a tremendous number of applications from people who were not initially eligible because they had been living in Hong Kong for less than seven years. Back then, many people were worried that this change of policy would highly impact the financial burden. To reassure people on the real cost of this policy change, the government published figures. In September 2014, 18,439 people who had been living in Hong Kong for less than seven years received CSSA and it accounted for only 4.8% of
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3864-711: The New Labour Government in the United Kingdom . The number of CSSA unemployment cases dropped by 23% from 32,335 cases in May 1999 to 24,998 in May 2000. Similarly, the share of unemployment cases among all CSSA cases dropped from 13.8 percent to 11 percent, and the ratio of unemployment CSSA caseloads to total number of unemployed persons in Hong Kong decreased from 15.5 percent to 14.8 percent. Figure 2: Social Security Expenditure in Hong Kong In
3956-569: The Ombudsman issued an investigation report in December 2008, disclosing the loose check and indifferent judgment of the SWD frontline workers. The Ombudsman criticised these caseworkers by stating that the "abandonment of common sense and lack of practical judgment" between the staff in SWD had caused abuse of the CSSA system. Moreover, legislative councillor Cheung Chiu Hung argued that the SSA ranks are not licensed social workers, who could handle administrative work only, without understanding what
4048-401: The SSA rank. Each frontline workers have to conduct nine interviews with new applicants on average every working day, and receiving 18 phone enquiry. As well, they must regularly review interviews with existing recipients, verify documents, make home visits and finish other workloads. On average, each CSSA caseworker has to deal with 320 cases in total per year. Caseworkers could hardly bear such
4140-487: The SWD can be divided into several components, namely Family Services, Child Welfare Services, and Family and Child Protective Services. Family Services For Family Services, SWD has commissioned NGOs to operate short-term good assistance to help individuals and families with difficulty in dealing with their daily food expenditure since 2009 . In the year 2020-2021, there were 20,243 cases provided with food assistance. To help individuals and families temporarily affected by
4232-481: The SWD was the Social Welfare Office, which was set up in light of the influx of population from the mainland China, post-World War II destruction and poverty, and the post-war expansion in the provision of services to meet education, healthcare and social needs. The Social Welfare Office was renamed Social Welfare Department from 1 January 1958. At the same time, the position of Social Welfare Officer
4324-742: The Waiting List of Subvented Pre-school Rehabilitation Services assistance programme (TSP). In 2020-21, a total of 1230 additional places for rehabilitation services were offered, 267 of which belong to pre-school rehabilitation services, while 397 and 566 of which are for day rehabilitation services and residential rehabilitation services respectively. (6) Services for the Elderly Comprehensive Social Security Assistance The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ( CSSA ) scheme
4416-510: The applicant have been resident in Hong Kong for one year immediately prior to the date of applicant. Both of the requirements introduced in 2004 have since been struck down by the courts. In June 2010, in response to a lawsuit by a Hong Kong permanent resident formerly working in mainland China who had returned to Hong Kong after becoming unemployed, the Court of First Instance held that the requirement of one year's residence immediately prior to
4508-425: The applicant's eligibility with a challenging tone which will cause the applicant to voluntarily withdraw themselves. Caseworkers might also exercise discretion during the stage of case investigation. They may discretionarily verify the applicant's documents and omit the examination of the applicant's living condition throughout the home visit. Lastly, CSSA frontline caseworkers usually would not disclose how much grants
4600-642: The applicants really need, due to heavy workload. In the HKCCSA study, nearly 90% of respondents agree that they have no extra time to find out applicants' needs apart from CSSA. It is acknowledged that newly hired caseworkers will be offered a one-week training course, which introduces the regulations in SWD and code of how to pay real concern on applicants. However, in the HKCCSA study, 71% of respondents did not think those regulations were pragmatic, in which half of them even cannot work completely in compliance with those regulations. Caseworkers should strictly follow
4692-442: The application process even if against their own will just to make the recipients are satisfied, avoiding any troubles and subsequently being complained by supervisors. Additionally, there are situations where the caseworkers may set up the cases for those who are seemingly ineligible, in order to maintain their caseloads. Exercising discretionary power can minimise requests form CSSA applicants, and hence reduce their workload. Thus, it
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#17327651563794784-429: The asset limit to be HK$ 82,000. For elders, disabled persons or ill-health individuals in family cases, one member's asset limit would be HK$ 47,000 while six members would set the limit to HK$ 162,000. To be eligible and considered for the CSSA, individuals must fall below the stated asset limits. As for the income test, an individual or a family will be eligible for CSSA if "their total assessable monthly household income
4876-613: The colonial administration, in which the government was characterised by its vulnerability on social policy to influences from business and financial interests, as well as its unwillingness to increase taxation to finance such expenditure, Secretary for Financial Services and the treasury Professor K.C. Chan remarked " While adhering to the principles of fiscal prudence…the Government's spending has been far from conservative. Recurrent expenditure has increased from $ 150 billion in 1997-98 to more than $ 290 billion in 2013-14, an increase of nearly one-fold. The increase in recurrent expenditure reflects
4968-525: The date of application violated the right of freedom of movement in Article 31 of the Basic Law . The government appealed the ruling, but the Court of Appeal upheld the lower court's ruling and ruled against the government in February 2012. Then, in a 2013 case by a mainland Chinese woman whose husband had died soon after her arrival in Hong Kong, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that the seven-years' residence requirement violated Articles 36 and 145 of
5060-510: The disregarded earnings - meaning to disregard part of their income when assessing the amount of assistance. SSA Scheme The SSA Scheme provides a monthly allowance to Hong Kong residents who face special needs arising from disability or old age, covering residents who are severely disabled or are 65 years old or above. The Scheme includes Disability Allowance such as Normal Disability Allowance and Higher Disability Allowance (recipient not receiving care in residential institutions subsidised by
5152-680: The elderly' and set out strategies to provide a 'sense of security, a sense of belonging and a feeling of health and worthiness.' This included the establishment of the Mandatory Provident Fund and Carer's Support and Resource Centres as well as increasing the allowance under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance. In 1997 to 1998, the number of CSSA recipients increased from 282,623 to 368,623 with government expenditure increasing from HK$ 9.4 billion to HK$ 13.0 billion. A Steering Group
5244-552: The elderly, recovering criminal offenders, drug abusers, street sleepers, persons with disabilities, the mentally ill, and the community at large. It administers social security schemes, including the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, which forms a large portion of its annual expenses. The department operates community and social centres, and also once operated libraries. SWD provides service mainly in 12 aspects. (1) Social Security The SWD aims to provide social security support - including financial and material assistance, to
5336-553: The end of December 2021, 142 children were adopted by local homes, 25 were adopted by overseas families, and 24 were adopted by relatives through private arrangements. However, there are still 97 children awaiting adoption. The Residential Child Care Services are provided for children and young persons under 21 who cannot be adequately cared for by their families. These services cover both non-institutional care such as Foster Care and Small Group Homes, and institutional care including Residential Child Care Centres and Boys'/ Girls' Home. In
5428-656: The family’s eligibility for assistance. In other words, the monthly income and expenses of all family members will be calculated together." That could give an extra edge to the solidarity between generation, or rather the opposite as it would create incentives for young people and elderly people to leave their family homes and live by themselves. Therefore, the idea of authorising elderly people to apply for CSSA on their own has been widely debated in recent years. It has been repeatedly suggested by multiple studies that saving accounts should be established for CSSA recipients who earn HK$ 4,200 per month or above. It would aim at encouraging
5520-507: The financially vulnerable. There are mainly four initiatives under this category, namely the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme , Social Security Allowance (SSA) Scheme, Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation (CLEIC) Scheme, Traffic Accident Victims Assistance (TAVA) Scheme and Emergency Relief. CSSA Scheme The CSSA Scheme consists of two components: the Employment Support Service and
5612-623: The government and chaired by the then Chief Secretary of Hong, Chief Secretary , Donald Tsang recommended in its report issued on 26 February 2003 that the seven-year's residence requirement should be introduced to restrict the new arrivals from mainland China to join the CSSA scheme. In January 2004, the Administration revised the residence requirement from one to seven years. Under the revised requirement, Hong Kong residents aged below 18 were exempted from any prior residence requirements. The Director of Social Welfare re-affirmed that adding
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#17327651563795704-451: The government budget accounted for 0.8% of the GDP whereas in 2002, it accounted for -4.8% of the GDP. CSSA budget was impacted from 1999 to 2002 as the number of CSSA recipients increased from 376,507 people to 466,868 people and in the meantime, CSSA expenditure as % of government expenditure only increased from 7.8% to 8.1%. This is a controversy concerning the procedure for applying for
5796-504: The government restricted its role and stressed the role of family in social welfare. As emphasised in the first White Paper on Social Welfare published in 1965, strengthened family support was the government's imperative in assistance. The paper notes "however generous we may wish to be, we cannot ignore the dollars and cents...In this connexion, Government's endorsement of the Chinese tradition of self-help and of treating relief measures as
5888-683: The government), and Old Age Allowances including Old Age Allowance (age 70 or above), Normal Old Age Living Allowance and Higher Old Age Living Allowance (age 65 or above and has monthly income and assets not exceeding prescribed limits ). The aforementioned Allowances do not require applicants to go through a means test, yet the applicants must continue to reside in Hong Kong during receipt of payment. As at 31 March 2021, there were 896,802 cases of Old Age Allowances (including Old Age Allowance and Old Age Living Allowance), and 158,962 cases of Disability Allowances (including Normal Disability Allowance and Higher Disability Allowance ) . The SSA scheme also covers
5980-400: The highest recorded percentage of 9.5% in 2005/6, CSSA expenditure has been declining each year (Figure 1). Firstly, the applicant must be a Hong Kong resident and has been of resident status for more than one year. As well, they need to have resided in Hong Kong for at least a year since acquirement of resident status. However, under some circumstances, some individuals may be exempted from
6072-464: The imperative to maintain a balance budget has resulted a government response to cut services and reduce social welfare benefits. During the 1997 Asian financial crises , there was a tremendous increase in unemployment cases applying to CSSA, and at the time, was the only form of public measure and cash benefits available to aid the poor. Since 1997, Hong Kong has had budget deficits from 1998-99 to 2004-05. Financial deficits during these years restricted
6164-559: The lines of the Western welfare states . At the end of 1993, there were 92,000 CSSA cases compared with 79,700 public assistance cases in the previous year and expenditure on the scheme was $ 2,073.8 million, an increase of 54.9% over the previous years. In 1995, there were 140,000 people (2% of the population) receiving benefits from this scheme. and they were mainly old people and people with illness or disabilities. Nevertheless, CSSA cases rose from 92,000 in 1993 to 195,645 in 1997 in which
6256-436: The new unemployed cases were found increased significantly. The laissez-faire economic policy and the so-called " positive non-interventionism " are regarded two key cornerstones of Hong Kong's economic success in post-war decades. They continue to be the fundamental framework guiding state policy, and are a major obstacle to making major changes in the government's approach to launch new social policy initiatives. In addition,
6348-459: The pandemic (i.e., COVID-19), SWD has relaxed the asset limits of the service from 1 June 2021 to 31 May 2022 on a time-limited basis by pitching the asset limits to those of Working Family Allowance. As at 31 March 2021, 425,857 beneficiaries in total had received food assistance from the service projects. Besides, operated by Caritas Hong Kong, a Family Crisis Support Centre (FCSC) is established to tackle family crises at an early stage by providing
6440-543: The plight of low-income families in the coming years. From 1997 to 2003, the CSSA cases increased from 195,645 to 288,648 and the budget rose from $ 2.4 billion in 1993 to $ 9.4 billion in 1998 and to $ 16 billion in 2002 in order to compensate for the Asian Financial Crisis, arrivals of the mainland Chinese immigrants and the ageing population. From 1997-8 to 2003-4, expenditure on social welfare significantly increased from 1.6% to 2.7% of Hong Kong’s GDP. As
6532-480: The psychologists of SWD would promote psychological wellbeing to the public and offer training to other professionals such as teachers and social workers from time to time. During the COVID pandemic, SWD conducts casework and central psychological support online, and published materials to give suggestions in coping with the pandemic, including meditation and breathing exercises. The clinical psychological service of SWD
6624-434: The recipients receive so as to prevent them from demanding for more assistance. It is however noted that sometimes extra assistance may be offered as a means to entertain the requests of the recipients, especially for the demanding ones. CSSA recipients have become more and more knowledgeable, allowing them to join hands with different parties, thus causing fear among caseworkers. Caseworkers would exercise discretion to speed up
6716-672: The regularisation of the Bought Place Scheme (BPS) since 2014, SWD has provided more residential rehabilitation service options by purchasing 1018 places from private residential care homes for persons with disabilities (PRHDs). Four outreaching teams were further set up in 2018-19 to provide professional consultation, training and support service to residents living in private RCHDs and their family members. In addition, SWD has regularised some pilot initiatives for specific groups, such as Special Subsidy Scheme for Persons with Permanent Stoma and Training Subsidy for Children who are on
6808-437: The regulations and code of ethics in SWD, especially when exercising discretionary power. It was however, mentioned in the HKCCSA study that rules are sometimes interpreted differently, in addition with ambiguous explanation on how to use discretionary power. Discretions are not unusual and could be done in various ways. Caseworkers will shorten the intake interview time, especially when they are busy. Some of them may question
6900-481: The residence requirement by the Director of Social Welfare. An applicant must pass an asset test and income test to be considered eligible for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance. An individual's assets include the total value of their properties or land, cash, bank savings, investments in stocks and shares, and other recognised assets. These assets are not just limited to those in Hong Kong, but also in Macau ,
6992-463: The seven-year residence rule sought to reflect the contribution a resident has made towards the Hong Kong economy over a sustained period of time. Since coming into effect in 2004, CSSA expenditure still continued to rise, increasing from HK$ 17.6 billion in 2004/5 to HK$ 18.4 billion in 2013/14 when the Court of Final Appeal ruled the change in the eligibility criteria as unconstitutional and a violation of
7084-444: The social workers of HOST (to listen to phone calls outside normal office hours) had handled 13,276 calls with 11,650 of them requiring counselling service. Support for Ethnic Minorities In supporting ethnic minorities, the SWD has commissioned three NGOs to set up three outreaching teams to proactively reach out to ethnic minorities and connect those in need with mainstream welfare services, The Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council
7176-458: The total number of CSSA recipients which amounted to 384,305 people. In 2014, 37% of CSSA recipients who were now eligible under the one year residence requirement were people aged under 18 years old; 58% of CSSA recipients living in Hong Kong for less than seven years were people aged between 18 and 59 years old; and 5% of those recipients were people of 60 years old or above. The defenders of one year residence requirement argued that this requirement
7268-509: The unemployed and families which exceeded the wages of low-end workers, unpaid voluntary work and terminate CSSA benefits with recipient refused job, re-assessment and strengthening of the arrangements to prevent fraud. At the end of 1997, it was reported that about 111,000 older persons, or 15% of those aged 65 and over, were beneficiaries of the scheme, with the total number of CSSA cases increasing almost four times more from 59,900 household cases in 1985 to 233,000 household cases in 1999. What
7360-644: The year 2020-2021, there were 924 places for Small Group Homes and the average enrolment rate was 94%. Family and Child Protective Services The SWD had launched a Publicity Campaign on Strengthening Families and Combating Violence in the year 2020-2021, and 1,266 district-based public education programmes and activities with a total attendance of 24,086 had been organised by the District Social Welfare Offices. There are also 11 units of Family and Child Protective Services Units located in different districts, and 7,002 cases were served in
7452-476: The year 2020-2021. (3) Clinical Psychological Services The clinical psychological service provided by the SWD can be divided into several parts, including casework service, central psychological support service and crisis intervention. Apart from creating psychotherapy booklets and audios for people in need, the team would follow up on cases that require treatments and attention by professional clinical psychologists. Psychologists would also visit kindergarten as
7544-432: The year 2020-2021. However, there are critiques regarding the quality of such service, see below. Child Welfare Services Regarding children welfare, the SWD provides both Adoption Service and Residential Child Care Services. The former finds suitable and permanent homes for children who have lost their parents through death or desertion and those who were born out of wedlock and whose parents are difficult to find. As at
7636-482: The years 2016 to 2021. Emergency Relief Emergency Relief (ER) can be divided into two components: ER Services and ER Fund. ER Services provide good, or cash-in-lieu of food and relief articles to victims of natural or other disasters such as fire, typhoon, flood, rainstorm, landslide and house collapse, and also for evacuees of buildings and premises considered to be dangerous under Closure Orders. ER Fund provides prompt assistance to persons in need of urgent relief as
7728-475: The years. Together with the Social Allowance Scheme (today known as Social Security Allowance Scheme) introduced in 1973, they have been the major components of Hong Kong's social security system. Throughout the 1980s, the total spending on social welfare was between 4.5 and 6.5% of the government's budget and the social security spending was about 0.57% of the gross domestic product . As
7820-477: Was 10 years up until 1959, five years after that, and then just one year after 1970. In 2004, the Tung Chee-hwa administration extended that period to seven years, in response to the rising cost of CSSA payments to Mainland Chinese new immigrants in Hong Kong , though children under the age of 18 were exempt from this new requirement. At the same time, the Tung administration introduced an additional requirement that
7912-475: Was brought to the CFA. Here, the CFA unanimously declared that it was inconsistent with the Basic Law and the residence requirement was changed back to one year. Following the court decision, some experts like Ho Hei-wah, director of the Society for Community Organisation, thought that it would eventually lead to an increase of CSSA applications per year of approximately 6,000 new residents. In subsequent months,
8004-427: Was lowered from 70 years old to 65. This sparked controversy as it would have singled out many elderly Hong Kong citizens that were supposed to be eligible for CSSA, but now cannot because of the raise of the age allowance. The Hong Kong government's explanation for such an amendment to the CSSA is because the Hong Kong population has improved on life expectancy; people in Hong Kong are living longer than before. CY Leung
8096-415: Was not the only one so that in the case of a shift from seven years to one year, the financial burden would not be that important. A question therefore arises of what drives the policy change of CSSA from a one-year residence requirement to a seven-year residence requirement. From 2000 to 2004, the Hong Kong government was running budget deficits and it required budget cuts from all social sectors. In 1999,
8188-434: Was originally because of Kong Yunming who arrived in Hong Kong from Mainland China in 2005 to rejoin her husband with a one-way permit. She stayed in her husband's public housing for the time being, but her husband passed away a few days after her arrival. The Housing Authority processed a housing exclusion, and she became homeless. Kong Yunming attempted twice to resort to law but her appeals were both dismissed until her case
8280-583: Was renamed Director of Social Welfare. Several prominent current and former officials, including Anson Chan , Carrie Lam and Patrick Nip , had formerly served as Director of Social Welfare. At various times, the department has been headquartered in Lee Gardens, the World Trade Centre (19th and 20th floors), and Wu Chung House in Wan Chai. SWD is one of the 12 largest departments under
8372-464: Was stated saying that he still "want[s] to encourage these CSSA recipients to work", implying that the CSSA is not a way to get out of employment. However, those that were within the ages of 60 to 65 at the time of the policy change will not be affected and will still be eligible to apply. Before 1 January 2004, any Hong Kong resident was eligible to apply for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) as long as they had been living in Hong Kong for
8464-432: Was subsequently set up with the membership of all civil servants with the Director of Social Welfare as the chair. The Steering Group concluded the 146% increase of CSSA cases from September 1993 to September 1998, three-fold growth of expenditure, attractions of the social security than the slow growth of wages and CSSA payments for a family of four or more were higher low-end wages. The Group recommended to slash benefits at
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