At the in-depth chat, CPPCC members, experts and heads of government departments discussed and improved the protection policies for migrant children. Photo courtesy of the organizer
On June 20, 2024, the social welfare sector of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) held an in-depth chat meeting on "Improving the Protection of Migrant Children in Difficult Circumstances and Continuously Improving Children's Well-being" at the Municipal Rescue and Protection Center for Minors. The meeting brought together members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), experts and scholars, business representatives, and heads of government departments to discuss the current situation, challenges and future development directions of the protection of migrant children in difficulty, and through in-depth exchanges and discussions, improve the protection policies for migrant children in difficulty, and continue to improve the well-being of children. The meeting was presided over by Zhang Zhuohua, member of the social welfare sector of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
It is proposed to set up a special fund
Welfare programs to support migrant children in difficulty
When there are as many as 3 million minors in a city, there will inevitably be some subdivided groups with special needs in terms of life and education. Among them, migrant children often face difficulties in education, medical care, psychology and other aspects.
At the meeting, Jiang Lei, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and secretary of the Party branch and chairman of the Haitong Social Work Service Center in Bao'an District, has been paying attention to migrant children with non-Shenzhen household registration for many years, and he suggested setting up special funds to support welfare projects for migrant children in distress to ensure that they can receive the necessary help and protection. He also suggested that the community level should be strengthened with dedicated children's directors to provide more professional and continuous services.
Zhang Zhuohua, member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, convener of the social welfare sector and secretary-general of the Shenzhen Association of Social Workers, believes that migrant children face multiple challenges, such as unequal educational opportunities, family economic difficulties and difficulties in social integration. Zhang Zhuohua suggested that policy support and financial investment should be increased for migrant children in difficulty, and a good guarantee for migrant children in difficulty. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen community services and family education guidance to enhance parents' educational awareness and ability.
Integrate social resources and cultural forces to protect minors
At the in-depth chat, many committee members also put forward forward-looking thinking based on their own work experience. Fang Tao, member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Committee of the Democratic Progressive Party, and vice president of the Shenzhen Federation of Social Organizations, believes that in addition to the support of the government, the participation of all sectors of society and the integration of resources are also needed. She proposed to build a consensus on the protection of minors in the whole society, and to involve more social organizations and enterprises in child protection work, and to jointly promote the development of child protection projects through innovative ways such as using influential platforms to attract more social resources.
Sun Lili, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, chairman of Shenzhen Zhonghui Film and Television Culture Communication Co., Ltd., and founder of the Mangrove Foundation, advocates creating a safer and more conducive environment for migrant children in distress through cultural power, and raising public awareness and attention to the problems of children in distress through cultural products such as films. She shared the positive impact of her film "Young You" on young people, and proposed to use cultural works to spread positive messages and arouse social empathy for the protection of minors.
Ye Wenxue, member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, founder of Shenzhen Longde Charity Foundation, and chairman of Shenzhen Lidelai Industrial Development Co., Ltd., shared his true story of funding orphan education. He said that enterprises can provide more material and moral support for migrant children through donations, setting up public welfare funds, etc., to help the families of migrant children solve practical difficulties.
It is recommended that guidance to families be strengthened
Improve parents' ability to cope with children's mental health
At the in-depth chat meeting, one of the words mentioned most by the committee members was "family education."
Su Zeran, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), convener of the social welfare sector, and general manager of Shenzhen Yuanfalong Industrial Development Co., Ltd., believes that in order to help children in difficulty get out of their predicament, we must first pay attention to their family functions and parent-child relationships, because family education is the first classroom for children's growth. He suggested that through the establishment of family education guidance services, professional psychological counseling and behavior correction should be provided to help families establish correct parenting concepts and prevent and reduce the occurrence of children's problem behaviors.
Huang Wenjing, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and deputy director of the Resident Health Management Center (Social Management Center) of Luohu Hospital Group, emphasized the importance of primary care in child protection work, especially in the early identification and intervention of children in difficulty, as well as the use of mandatory reporting in primary service organizations. She suggested strengthening guidance and support for families to improve parents' awareness and coping skills about children's mental health.
Pan Zhengyan, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a second-level researcher at the Child Welfare Department of the Civil Affairs Bureau, believes that children's problems often stem from poor family education and parent-child relationships. She advocated strengthening family education guidance in marriage registration, childbirth and other links, and implanting the concept of scientific parenting into every family. The problem of children in difficult circumstances requires the professional intervention of social forces, including psychological counselling and professional addiction rehabilitation services. She suggested building a child protection system with the participation of the whole society, especially focusing on the special groups of minors involved in cases, left-behind children and children in difficulty, and providing them with professional care services and vocational education. In addition, Pan Zhengyan raised concerns about juvenile policing, which is crucial in child protection work.
Professionals
It is necessary not only to protect children's basic rights and interests, but also to develop children's abilities
Liu Xizhong, from the Pengxing Domestic Violence Protection Center in Shenzhen, and Chen Yeling from the Futian District Weide Volunteer Legal Service Center stressed the need to strengthen legal aid and psychological counseling for migrant children and their families to help them get out of their predicament and regain their lives.
Liu Xizhong emphasized the importance of anti-domestic violence and put forward several suggestions: first, it is necessary to form the awareness of zero tolerance for domestic violence in the whole society, and improve the professionalism and concept of staff; secondly, strengthen the training of child workers, especially the core team of case management; Thirdly, deepen the multi-sectoral linkage mechanism to ensure that the actual needs of individual cases are met; In addition, emphasis should be placed on family education guidance to reduce parent-child conflicts; Finally, he called for the establishment of juvenile policing, clarified the difference between rights protection and mediation, and hoped that Shenzhen could become a benchmark for the protection of minors, and raise parents' legal awareness through legal punishment.
From the perspective of front-line practitioners, Chen Yeling regards children no longer simply as objects to be protected, but as subjects of rights and interests and abilities, not only to protect children's basic rights and interests, but also to develop children's abilities. She suggested that the case should be handled on a case-by-case basis to resolve difficult uninsured cases that are not covered by the existing welfare policy. Establish a government-led, cross-sectoral, and cross-professional system for the uninsured and uncovered services, and smooth channels for dialogue between government departments and front-line uninsured practice areas, so as to promote the orderly renewal and development of the child welfare policy system.
Department response
Implement dynamic management and categorical assistance for children in distress discovered through surveys
Shenzhen and district levels have established leading groups for the protection of minors; Comprehensively carry out accurate screening of children in difficulty, implement a mandatory reporting system, and implement dynamic management and categorical assistance for 100% of children in distress found in the survey.
Wu Yuanxiang, a member of the Party Leadership Group and deputy director of the Civil Affairs Bureau, mentioned that although Shenzhen has made remarkable achievements in the protection of children in difficulty, at present, most of them are mainly based on material security, and "soft services" such as spiritual care and social integration are relatively weak, and the service guarantee for non-registered children is relatively insufficient. He proposed to actively mobilize social participation, make full use of social resources, and guide and support professional services in case management.
Liao Yuanfei, director of the Committee on Social Legality, Ethnic and Religious Affairs of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a first-level inspector of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), pointed out that there are still problems in the design of child protection policies and systems, such as fragmentation of laws and insufficient cohesion of mechanisms, which have led to difficulties in actual implementation, and the formulation of public policies needs to be more scientific and reasonable.
At the meeting, the staff of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Procuratorate, the Municipal Public Security Bureau, the Civil Affairs Bureau, the Municipal Education Bureau, the Municipal Women's Federation and other relevant departments also expressed their views and suggestions on the protection of migrant children in difficulty. They said that they will further strengthen inter-departmental coordination and cooperation, form a joint work force, and provide more comprehensive and efficient security services for migrant children in difficulty.
Written by: Nandu reporter Chen Rongmei