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The white paper on social welfare issued in 1965 started the long-term planning
of the government in this aspect. After
the government had released the white paper on Social Welfare Aims and Policies
in Hong Kong in this particular year, subsequent white papers were issued in
1973, 1979 and 1991, setting targets and concrete plans for the social welfare
development of Hong Kong in the future. Besides
the white papers, the government formulated "program plans" in the
mid-1970s for specific services, such as rehabilitation, youth services and
elderly services. At the same time,
"five-year plans" were set up to keep social welfare developments
under review. Recently, such
planning has been made by "annual consultations" on the related
sectors. The above planning
mechanisms have played a positive role in the different stages of development,
yielding recognized results.
However, all social systems should keep up with the times and adjust to changes
to facilitate continuous growth and development.
As a highly-developed and densely-populated international city, Hong Kong
has experienced increasingly complicated social problems and greater challenges
to its social welfare system. The
change in the political and economic environment, the structural change in
population, the expectations of the citizens on social welfare, the
contributions made by the welfare budget, the core social values of welfare as
well as the demands on the quality of welfare services can all have major
affects on the long-term planning of social welfare policies.
Developing a sustainable social welfare system is the long-term target of any
society. The social welfare
planning in Hong Kong also needs to be reformed to establish a new system
catering to the social demands of the present and, at the same time, addressing
the social benefits in the long term with broad and visionary considerations. In order to solicit opinions of the public and, in particular
the younger generation, regarding future welfare planning, this study has been
conducted through an integration of relevant data and measurements from mega
trends in the current social context, interviews with experts and academics as
well as a territory-wide survey of Hong Kong people. It is hoped that this study will provide insights of the
issues at hand and will result in recommendations which could be suggested for
future welfare planning.
A synthesis of observations from mega trends in the current social context is
complemented with literature reviews to anticipate future trends and its
implications to social welfare planning.
Interviews with academics and specialists were conducted in the period between
May and July 2008. 11 persons were
interviewed, among them academics, representatives from social welfare service
organizations and social workers. Their
observations and opinions regarding the long-term social welfare planning for
Hong Kong were sought.
In order to gauge the attitudes and opinions of Hong Kong people regarding the
future development of social welfare services, a telephone survey was conducted
between the 3rd and the 11th of July, 2008. By
random sampling, 1019 eligible Hong Kong people aged 15 or above were
successfully polled, yielding a response rate of 67%, with a standard error
within ¡Ó1.6%.
The following eight
points are concluded for the consideration of long-term welfare planning:
1.
Affirm the importance of the formulation of long-term strategic welfare
planning.
2.
The Government should have a clear and definite role in welfare planning.
3.
Should address the problem of welfare resources keeping in mind the
implication of maintaining the sustainability of welfare services.
4.
Enhance the professionalism as well as the autonomy of non-governmental
organizations to provide welfare services.
5.
Welfare planning should consider the uniqueness of a district and also
facilitate the deployment of resources between the centre and the district.
6. Strengthen
family solidarity and provide needy families with services.
7.
Broaden public participation and discussion in welfare planning.
8.
Monitor the trends and respond to the needs of society
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Youth Study
Series No.40
