Network of protection looking after vulnerable children

A solid protection network has been created in Shanghai for its minors, one of the most vulnerable groups, with 220 juvenile protection stations established, covering all subdistricts and towns, local civil affairs authorities said on Tuesday.

Twenty cases of the practices and experiences of the city in juvenile protection were shared and promoted on Tuesday.

In one case, the minor protection station of Fengjing Town in Jinshan District received a call from a divorced mother whose son had followed his father to Shanghai but was not going to school and contact with the father had been lost.

"The mother was extremely concerned about the physical and mental health of the boy, and we intervened immediately," said a station staff member.

"We found the father with the help of police and he said the distance between the school and where they were living was the reason," the staff member said.

With the intervention of the station, civil affairs and education authorities, the boy was transferred to a school near where they lived.

The city has released a potential risk identification checklist for minors, according to the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.

Via a coordination protection network involving families, schools and wider society, it helps children's welfare workers spot potential subjects more accurately and efficiently.

The city has also established an early screening platform on children with autism and relevant rehabilitation and family guidance platforms, delivering strong support to their families.

The team of child counselors, directors and welfare social workers responsible for the care and protection of children in plight, drop-out and disabled children at the grassroots keeps expanding, and they have become the most reliable power over the protection of special children in the city via visits, screening, emergency intervention and coordination and handling efforts, officials said.