What they say

This is the first regulation the State Council has released about providing care for left-behind children in rural areas. Some strategies are breakthroughs, such as local governments keeping themselves well-informed about the situations of left-behind children under their jurisdiction, ensuring they are properly taken care of and encouraging charitable organizations to participate in providing help to left-behind children.

Many local governments lack trained childcare professionals who are familiar with the law, social work and psychology. Without those professionals, it will be difficult to implement the regulation.

Tong Lihua, head of the Beijing Children's Legal Aid and Research Center