Formed 1 January 1958 Employees 5,459 (2014) | Preceding Social Welfare Office | |
Headquarters Wu Chung House
No. 213 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai Annual budget HK$58,349.2 million (2015-16 estimate) Agency executive Carol Yip, Director of Social Welfare | ||
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.
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Responsibilities
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.
History
The Social Welfare Office was renamed Social Welfare Department from 1 January 1958. At the same time, the position of Social Welfare Officer was renamed Director of Social Welfare.
In 1986 the department was criticised for a heavy-handed approach to a child protection case.
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.