More help awaits left-behind children

Provided to China Daily

"By identifying someone in the community where these children live, we equip them with the right social work skills and are able to make sure we reach every child with a mix of care and practical support to connect them to services and entitlements," Wang said, adding that the ongoing project will help in the emergence of more government-backed professional child welfare services.

"We recognize the importance of working with the community to strengthen the role played by the government in providing adequate care, protection and support for our children," said Xu Jianzhong, deputy director-general, Department of Social Welfare and Charity Promotion, an affiliate of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

"We are working with the provinces to see how best we can commit the needed resources to roll this out so as to reach more and more children."

As part of its commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of Child, China is keen to expand this model, endorsing it as part of its Outline for the Development of Chinese Children (2011-2020) and building an inclusive child welfare system.