What are the four principles for caring for left-behind children?

"Opinions on Strengthening the Care and Protection of Left-behind Children in Rural Areas"

On February 14, the overall goal of strengthening the care and protection of left-behind children in rural areas was proposed - families, governments, and schools should fulfill their duties A work system for the care and protection of rural left-behind children has been fully established with due diligence and active participation of social forces. The rescue and protection mechanisms for rural left-behind children such as mandatory reporting, emergency response, assessment assistance, and guardianship intervention have been effectively operated. Incidents that infringe on the rights and interests of rural left-behind children have been effectively curbed. By 2020, the laws, regulations and institutional systems for the protection of minors will be more complete, the whole society's awareness of caring for and protecting children will be generally enhanced, the environment for children's growth will be improved, safety will be more secure, and the phenomenon of left-behind children will be significantly reduced.

Family responsibility, government leadership, universal care, and treating both symptoms and root causes

The "Opinions" clarify that left-behind children refer to children whose parents have gone out to work or one parent has gone out to work and the other parent is incapable of guardianship, and who are under 16 1 year old minors.

The "Opinions" require that the starting point and goal should be to promote the healthy growth of minors, adhere to legal protection, continuously improve laws, regulations and institutional mechanisms, adhere to a problem orientation, strengthen the responsibility of family guardianship, and increase care and protection. Strengthen efforts to gradually reduce the phenomenon of left-behind children in rural areas and ensure that the safety, health, education and other rights and interests of left-behind children in rural areas are effectively protected.

The "Opinions" propose that four major principles must be adhered to in strengthening the care and protection of left-behind children in rural areas.

Insist on fulfilling family responsibilities. To implement the main responsibility of family guardianship, guardians must fulfill their responsibilities in accordance with the law and give priority to the interests of children in family development; strengthen the supervision and guidance of family guardianship and entrusted guardianship to ensure that left-behind children in rural areas receive proper care, family love and family warmth.

Adhere to government leadership. Make the care and protection of left-behind children in rural areas an important part of the work of governments at all levels, implement the territorial responsibilities of county and township people's governments, strengthen the supervision and guidance responsibilities of civil affairs and other relevant departments, improve the care service system and rescue and protection mechanisms for left-behind children in rural areas, and effectively protect left-behind children in rural areas Children’s legal rights.

Adhere to universal care. Give full play to the active role of village (resident) committees, mass organizations, social organizations, professional social workers, volunteers, etc., and strive to solve the difficulties and problems encountered by left-behind children in rural areas in the life, supervision, and growth process, and form a A good atmosphere for the whole society to care for left-behind children in rural areas.

Insist on treating both the symptoms and the root causes. We should not only base ourselves on the current situation, improve policies and measures, improve working mechanisms, and strive to solve outstanding problems such as the lack of supervision of left-behind children in rural areas; we should also take a long-term view, coordinate urban and rural development, and fundamentally solve the problem of left-behind children.

Family, government, education, mass groups, and social forces are all involved

The "Opinions" require the improvement of the care service system for left-behind children in rural areas. This system consists of families, governments, Education system, group organizations, social forces, etc.

First, strengthen the main responsibility of family guardianship. Parents must fulfill their guardianship and support obligations for their minor children in accordance with the law. Migrant workers should try their best to bring their minor children to live with them or have one parent stay at home to take care of them. If they do not meet the conditions temporarily, they should entrust relatives or other adults with guardianship capabilities to take care of them. Children under the age of 16 are not allowed to be taken away from custody. Living alone. Migrant workers should have regular contact and meet with their left-behind minors, keep abreast of their life, study and psychological conditions, and provide them with more family love and care.

Second, implement the responsibilities of county, township and town people’s governments and village (residents) committees. Village (resident) committees should visit regularly and carry out comprehensive inspections, promptly grasp basic information such as the family situation, guardianship situation, and schooling situation of left-behind children in rural areas, and report to the township people's government (subdistrict office); they should provide telephone services to left-behind children in rural areas , video and other methods to facilitate contact with parents. Township people's governments (subdistrict offices) should establish a detailed and complete information ledger for left-behind children in rural areas, with one file per person, implement dynamic management and precise policy implementation, and provide support for relevant departments and social forces to participate in the care and protection of left-behind children in rural areas; through party members and cadres Through door-to-door home visits, visits by village cadres, and follow-up visits by professional social workers, key targets are verified to ensure that left-behind children in rural areas are properly cared for. County-level civil affairs departments and rescue management agencies should provide policy guidance and technical support for the guardianship and supervision work carried out by township people's governments (subdistrict offices) and village (resident) committees.

Third, increase the care and protection of education departments and schools.

The education administration department must implement free compulsory education and education funding policies to ensure that left-behind children in rural areas do not drop out of school due to poverty; support and guide primary and secondary schools to strengthen mental health education, promote the positive and healthy development of students' psychology and personality, and detect and correct psychological problems and unhealthy behaviors early Conduct; work with public security organs to guide and assist primary and secondary schools to improve civil, physical and technical defense measures, strengthen campus safety management, conduct legal publicity and safety education, and help children enhance their awareness of preventing illegal infringements and master safety knowledge to prevent accidental injuries. Primary and secondary schools should implement full-process management of the education of left-behind children in rural areas, use telephone calls, home visits, parent-teacher meetings, etc. to strengthen communication with parents and entrusted guardians, understand the living conditions and ideological trends of left-behind children in rural areas, and help guardians understand the children left-behind in rural areas. Study status, improve guardians' awareness of responsibility and education management capabilities; timely understand the situation of left-behind children in rural areas who are absent from school for no reason, implement the system of registration of dropout students, persuasion to return to school, and written reporting system. If the persuasion to return is ineffective, a written report should be reported to the county-level education administrative department and the township people The government has taken measures in accordance with the law to encourage children to return to school and help left-behind children in rural areas strengthen emotional connections and family exchanges with their parents through phone calls, videos, etc.

Fourth, give full play to the advantages of group organizations in caring services. Trade unions and the Communist Youth League should mobilize a broad range of employees, youth league members, young pioneers, etc. to carry out various forms of care services and mutual aid activities for rural left-behind children. The Women's Federation should rely on women's homes, children's homes and other activity venues to provide care services for rural left-behind children and other children, strengthen family education guidance for parents and entrusted guardians of rural left-behind children, and guide them to pay timely attention to the physical and mental health conditions of rural left-behind children. , strengthen family love and care. The Disabled Persons' Federation should organize the rehabilitation of left-behind disabled children in rural areas. The relevant working committee must organize and mobilize the vast number of retired comrades such as veteran cadres, veterans, veterans, teachers, and models to coordinate and provide care and services for left-behind children in rural areas.

Fifth, promote the active participation of social forces. Accelerate the incubation and cultivation of professional social work service organizations, public charity social organizations, and voluntary service organizations. Civil affairs and other departments should support them through government purchase of services and other methods to go deep into urban and rural communities, schools, and families, and carry out guardianship guidance, psychological counseling, and behavioral counseling for left-behind children in rural areas. Professional services such as correction, social integration and family relationship adjustment. Give full play to the role of the market mechanism and support social organizations and charitable enterprises in establishing rural left-behind children's care services based on schools and community comprehensive service facilities. The finance and taxation departments must implement preferential tax reduction and exemption policies in accordance with the law.

Establish mandatory reporting, emergency response, assessment assistance, and guardianship intervention mechanisms

The opinions also require the establishment and improvement of a rescue and protection mechanism for left-behind children in rural areas.

First, establish a mandatory reporting mechanism. Schools, kindergartens, medical institutions, village (residents) committees, social work service agencies, rescue management agencies, welfare agencies and their staff find that left-behind children in rural areas are living alone or missing without supervision, or that their guardians have lost the ability to supervise or Those who fail to perform their guardianship responsibilities, are suspected of suffering domestic violence, suspected of being accidentally injured or illegally violated, etc., should be reported to the public security organs as soon as possible.

Second, improve the emergency response mechanism. Public security organs must accept relevant reports in a timely manner, dispatch police to investigate as soon as possible, and take targeted emergency response measures. The person responsible for mandatory reporting must assist the public security organs in investigation and emergency response work. If the left-behind children in rural areas live alone, their parents must be ordered to return immediately or an entrusted guardian must be identified, and the parents must be reprimanded; if the guardian has lost the ability to supervise or fails to perform guardianship responsibilities, the parents of left-behind children in rural areas must be contacted to return immediately or entrust other relatives. Guardianship and care: If the parents of left-behind children in rural areas cannot be contacted in the above two situations, they must be escorted to other close relatives, village (residents) committees, rescue management agencies, and welfare institutions for temporary custody and care, and help notify the parents of left-behind children in rural areas to return immediately. or re-identify the entrusted guardian. If the child is missing, an investigation must be carried out in a timely manner in accordance with the rapid search mechanism for missing children. Those who suffer from domestic violence must be stopped in accordance with the law, and when necessary, the civil affairs department shall be notified and assisted in placing them in temporary shelters, rescue management institutions, or welfare institutions for protection; those who have suffered other illegal infringements or accidental injuries must be stopped in accordance with the law. Implement protection. The public security organs must promptly notify the township people's government (subdistrict office) of the relevant situation.

Third, improve the evaluation and assistance mechanism.

After receiving the notice from the public security agency, the township people's government (subdistrict office) shall, together with the civil affairs department and the public security agency, with the assistance of the village (neighborhood) committee, primary and secondary schools, medical institutions, relatives, and social work professional service agencies, carry out the investigation of left-behind people in rural areas. The children’s safety situation, guardianship situation, physical and mental health status, etc. are investigated and evaluated, and professional services such as guardianship guidance, medical treatment, psychological counseling, behavioral modification, legal services, and legal aid are arranged in a targeted manner. For guardians whose families have financial difficulties and comply with relevant social assistance and social welfare policies, the civil affairs and other social assistance departments must promptly include them in the scope of protection.

Fourth, strengthen the monitoring intervention mechanism. For parents or entrusted guardians who commit domestic violence, abuse or abandon left-behind children in rural areas, the public security organs shall criticize and educate them, and impose public security management penalties when necessary. If the circumstances are serious enough to constitute a crime, the case shall be opened for investigation in accordance with the law. For guardians who leave rural left-behind children in a state of unsupervised and unattended conditions, causing them to be in danger and do not correct themselves despite education, or who refuse to perform their guardianship duties for more than six months, resulting in rural left-behind children having no means of living, or who commit domestic violence, abuse, or If the abandonment of left-behind children in rural areas causes serious damage to their physical and mental health, their close relatives, village (residents) committees, county-level civil affairs departments and other relevant personnel or units must apply to the people's court to revoke their guardianship qualifications in accordance with the law and appoint another guardian.