Social workers expect funds for welfare services to be re-allocated rather than increased in the Budget.
Family case and school social workers will continue to feel hardest hit as the bulk of the allocations for social welfare will be spent on elderly services and the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) scheme.
Despite a recent review of the CSSA scheme, handouts are likely to rise as the bleak state of the labour market continues.
To improve the standard of private elderly homes, the Social Welfare Department will fight for more resources for the Bought Place Scheme, which offers home operators about $8,000 a month for each place.
But family and youth services, which have seen no expansion over the past five years, are likely to remain at the same level for years to come.
And next Wednesday's Budget is unlikely to address the the need for increased welfare for new migrants.
'I think the increase of overall allocation will be less than five per cent,' said Cheung Kwok-che, president of the Hong Kong Social Workers' General Union. 'Child and youth services have always been neglected; there has been zero growth in the areas.