Society
Orphans may get urban homes
By Wang Chao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-28 08:04
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The Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau is considering launching a pilot project to encourage more urban families to adopt orphans.
As part of the project, which is still in its planning stage, families that wish to adopt will be selected on the basis of education, income, housing and legal record. The government will bear the child's cost of living, and pay the family extra money in "service fees", the Beijing Times reported.
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Since 1994, orphans have found foster homes mostly in suburban or rural areas like Daxing and Yanqing districts, with the host families receiving monthly subsidies from the local department of civil affairs.
"Most of those orphans were found abandoned on the streets and sent to nearby police stations, from where they were transferred to the local civil affairs department and had to wait until families came around to adopt them," said a worker, surnamed Guo, at the Children Welfare Office in Fangshang district.
He said that was mostly the case before 2000, when Children Welfare Offices were not as prevalent in rural areas as they are today.
A spokesman for the civil affairs office told the Beijing Times that they are currently investigating the feasibility of the adoption plan.
The Lixian Children Welfare Office in Daxing district was founded in 1986 and currently houses about 200 orphans.
Lang Shufeng, who has been working at the office for six years, said most of the children are disabled.
In Daxing district alone, about 100 orphans live with adoptive families.
Lang said rural couples who wish to adopt must have graduated from secondary school, share good rapport with their neighbors, and be aged above 30.
Lang said the municipal department of civil affairs has yet to formulate a policy on what happens to the orphans after they reach the age of 18, but said most children did odd jobs or played instruments to earn a living.
Currently, most rural families that adopt orphans have weak educational backgrounds and low living standards, the Beijing Times reported.
Lang said he has heard of Beijing's new plan for orphans, but doesn't believe it is feasible.
"Since most of these children are disabled, they need a lot of attention, which is difficult for urban families, where both the husband and wife work," he said.
"Besides, a subsidy of a few hundred yuan which the government will offer will not be appealing to urban couples."
