The Social and Family Affairs Administration (SFAA) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) held its plaque-unveiling ceremony in the afternoon of July 23, 2013. Under the invitation of the Convener of MHW Preparatory Group, Mr. Chiu Wen-Ta and the Convener of SFAA Preparatory Group, Mr. Tseng Chung-Ming, National Policy Advisors to the President including Advisors Chan Huo-Sheng, Feng Yen, and James Hsueh Cherng-Tay; Legislators; Minister without Portfolio of the Executive Yuan, Mr. Chen Shyh-Kwei; Honorary Chairman of the Taiwan Social Welfare League (TSWL), Mr. Bai Hsiu-Hsiung; Minister and Political Deputy Minister of MHW; Political Deputy Minister of the Ministry of the Interior, Mr. Hsiao; Secretary General Mr. Wong; and the Director of SFAA unveiled the plaque of ‘Social and Family Affairs Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare’ together. Also invited on the scene were representatives of all social welfare groups and media reporters, witnessing the beginning of a new era of Taiwan’s social welfare. 

Thanks to the joint efforts of private social welfare groups, the academia, as well as the legislative and executive branches of the government over the years, SFAA of the Ministry of Health and Welfare is formally founded today! In his speech, the Minister of MHW expressed his gratitude particularly to social welfare organizations for their concern and support of SFAA. He also proclaimed that the SFAA will adopt ‘holistic health care’ as the axis of its policy implementation, ‘family’ as the center of policy planning, to combine professional knowledge and expertise of services in child and youth welfare, women’s welfare, elderly welfare, and welfare for the disabled, in order to create a society where ‘individual life is under care, family functions well and sound, and community network much closer’ for the people. 

Integrating the existing main responsibilities of the Department of Social Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior, including elderly welfare, welfare for the disabled, women’s welfare and elderly and disabled welfare organization counselling, with those of the Child Welfare Bureau such as child welfare services and child care service, SFAA founded five respective divisions: Women’s Welfare and Planning Division, Child and Youth Welfare Division, Disabled Welfare Division, Elderly Welfare Division, and Family Support Division (SFAA organization chart detailed in Appendix A). The existing duties of the Child Welfare Bureau regarding protection, rehabilitation and prevention counseling will be assigned to MHW’s Department of Protective Services in the future. The existing duties of the Department of Social Affairs including social relief, social work protocols, voluntary service, community development, and charitable fundraising will be moved to MHW’s Department of Social Assistance and Social Work; whereas those with regard to social groups, vocational groups, cooperatives guidance, cooperatives management, and farmers’ health insurance will still be carried out by the Ministry of the Interior (table of duty adjustment detailed in Appendix B). In the future, SFAA will take the initiative to explain to local governments the change of business counterparts, in order to assure seamless transition of all duties from the existing agencies and continue to implement existing tasks for public service. 

At present, SFAA is still located in the same address of the Department of Social Affairs, Ministry of the Interior: South Tower, Joint Central Government Office Building. After the completion of the NHW Building in Nangang in the future, the SFAA office will be relocated there with the NHW to continue providing services. The main telephone line of SFAA of the Ministry of Health and Welfare is: 02-23565577 (toll-free line). Its URL is: https://www.sfaa.gov.tw/.