The Child Development Fund (CDF) was established in 2008 to support longer-term development of children from a disadvantaged background. Having considered that the CDF has been running for 15 years and the launch of other funding projects targeting underprivileged children by the Government and the community in recent years, the Steering Committee on the Child Development Fund (the Steering Committee) considers that there is genuine need to review the CDF to enhance its uniqueness and competitiveness. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) is tasked to conduct an overall review of the key elements of the CDF covering the scope of target participants, project duration, the “one-plus-one-approach” for NGO-led Projects, roles of strategic partners and interface with other funding projects aiming to support children from a disadvantaged background, etc. SWD will invite project operators and other stakeholders including previous beneficiaries, participating children/youth, parents, mentors, donors, and strategic partners to participate in the review. Tentatively, the review is expected to complete around end of this year.
To ensure continuity, the Steering Committee agreed that the operation of on-going projects (i.e. the 7th, 8th and 9th batches of school-based projects and the 8th and 9th batch of NGO-led projects) should not be affected by the review. However, the recruitment of participants for the 10th Batch of School-based Projects and the 10th batch of NGO-led projects will be withheld subject to the completion of the review. Should you have any questions, please contact the CDF Office at 2892 5540.