The Development of Social Work in Hong Kong

Social work in Hong Kong began after the Second World War and went through three stages of development:

1. After the war, all walks of life in Hong Kong were dying. Due to the arrival of a large number of new immigrants, the population of Hong Kong has increased dramatically, and social problems such as poverty, employment, housing and crime are very serious. Driven by social organizations, Hong Kong began to adopt social work to solve these social problems.

2. In 1970s, Hong Kong's economy took off gradually, and its prosperity created conditions for accelerating the establishment of social security system and developing social welfare undertakings. In order to understand residents' service needs in a deeper and timely manner, coordinate the service work of social work institutions, integrate and utilize service resources, and improve service quality. In the 1980s, the British Hong Kong government vigorously developed the service hotline and social worker referral agencies. After entering the 1990s, the social workers in Hong Kong further proposed "developing comprehensive care and providing quality services".

3. 1 July 19971day, Hong Kong returned to the embrace of the motherland, and social work in Hong Kong entered a new historical development period. After the reunification, the Hong Kong SAR Government has formulated a series of new laws and policies, vigorously promoted the all-round development and reform of social work in Hong Kong, implemented a registration system for professional social workers, and strived to promote cooperation and exchanges between Hong Kong and the Mainland in social work.

In order to improve the service quality of social work and the efficiency of the use of funds, Hong Kong is currently trying to reform the service quality evaluation and funding system of non-governmental social work institutions.