"China plans to restructure its child welfare services and complete the reform process by 2025, shifting the focus of the service system to the protection of minors, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said at a press conference on Tuesday," says this article from Xinhua Net. "Child welfare services in China are dedicated to sheltering and supporting children whose guardianship is assumed by civil affairs authorities, said the ministry, noting that many facilities now lie idle as the number of orphans has dropped 66 percent from the 2012 figure to 190,000," the article continues. "In contrast to the declining number of orphans, more children living with serious illnesses or disabilities are being left unattended and in want of professional care, for which existing child welfare facilities fall short."
"Together with 13 departments, the ministry recently released a guidance document for the reform push. 'The document sets the targets of optimizing resources and improving services in provincial and municipal child welfare facilities, and transforming those at the county level,' said Ministry of Civil Affairs official Zhao Yong.