• To set welfare agenda in response to social needs and advocate for improvement of concerned policies and services;
• To identify service needs with the Sector and inform the Government, the public and other stakeholders;
• To initiate and participate in welfare planning, service enhancement and financing to reflect and consolidate views of the Sector, supported by data and analysis on social needs and recommendations on service solutions;
• To formulate directions and strategies to support & empower users groups to articulate their needs and to participate in enhancing policies and services to address their situations;
• To promote pioneering and innovative service response together with the Sector to meet the needs, fill service gaps and scale up innovation to create higher social impact;
• To formulate directions and strategies to promote evidence-based practice and best practice sharing to enhance service quality and effectiveness;
• To enhance cross-service and multi-disciplinary collaboration in meeting community needs;
• To foster networking and exchanges with international and regional counterparts for development of local welfare agenda, the application of related international conventions, experience sharing and practice advancement.

The mission is to foster collective efforts of the agency members and in partnership with the government and concerned stakeholders, to promote social service development in response to the changing community needs through promoting social service development and planning, enhancing service quality, promoting and encouraging agencies to adopt good practices, reviewing service delivery models, providing forums for exchanges and joint endeavors, as well as keeping abreast of the overall needs and changes of the society. Information on hot issues, updates and upcoming events are availble to keep welfare personnel informed.

The Service Development provides professional assistance in the respective service development of the following 4 service areas :

		Service Development (Children & Youth) is responsible for development of Children & Youth service. It liaises agency members to discuss and comment on policy issues, provides platform for agencies to share on experience so as to enhance service quality in response to the needs of young people.
		In the context of welfare services, elderly persons refer to those aged 60 or above. The fundamental objective of services for the elderly, as laid in the 1979 White Paper, is " To promote the well being of the elderly in all aspects of their living by providing services that will enable them to remain members of the community for as long as possible; and to the extent necessary, to provide residential care suited to the varying needs of the elderly. " This was again echoed by the White Paper, Social Welfare into 1990s and Beyond, released in 1991. "An elderly person should be assisted to live in his own community with dignity and a spectrum of services should be provided in and by the community to facilitate his continued participation in society both socially and, if he likes, economically for as long as possible. Opportunities should be made available for elderly persons to play an active role in the community rather than treated in isolation as a class apart".
		Service Development (Family & Community) is responsible for the development of services, including family, community development, new arrivals, ethnic minorities and substance abuse. It now has 134 registered member agencies. A paper on the existing family and community situation and services is available for download.
		The Joint Council for the Physically and Mentally Disabled is the umbrella body of non-governmental organizations for and of persons with disabilities in Hong Kong. It was granted exemption of registration under the Societies Ordinance (cap. 151) in October 1965. The aims of the Joint Council are to promote the coordination and improvement of services and facilities for persons with disabilities, participate in policy review and formulation, conduct public education and develop new rehabilitation programmes. It also plays an important role in the local and international rehabilitation field. As the objectives of the Joint Council are similar to the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS), the Joint Council was incorporated into the HKCSS and became the Rehabilitation Division of HKCSS in November 1965. Further to the 2001 organizational review and re-structuring of HKCSS, it has been agreed that such partnership relationship shall be maintained and, from December the same year onward the Management Committee of Joint Council would be equivalent to the Rehabilitation Specialized Committee of HKCSS.