Various Regions Contribute to Rehabilitation Assistance for Children with Disabilities
Rehabilitation for children with disabilities has been highly valued and systematically supported in China. According to the Opinions on Establishing a Rehabilitation Relief System for Children with Disabilities issued by the State Council, the rehabilitation relief system for children with disabilities has been fully implemented since October 1, 2018, aiming to enhance the rehabilitation of children with disabilities through a series of regulations and policy measures. The establishment of the system marks a shift in the rehabilitation of children with disabilities from project-based operation to institutionalized guarantee.
Local governments have also actively introduced relevant policies to support the rehabilitation of children with disabilities.
1. Pingdingshan City
This year, Pingdingshan City included “providing rehabilitation assistance to no fewer than 2,000 children with disabilities” as one of its key livelihood priorities.11 A number of departments jointly issued the “Implementation Plan for Rehabilitation Assistance for Children with Disabilities in Pingdingshan City in 2024” to provide assistance to children with disabilities aged 0-14 years with vision, hearing, speech, limb, and intellectual disabilities and children with autism, who are eligible for such assistance. Eleven departments have jointly issued the 2024 Pingdingshan Rehabilitation Assistance Program for Children with Disabilities, which provides rehabilitation assistance to children aged 0-14 with visual, hearing, speech, physical, intellectual and other disabilities and autism who meet the conditions for assistance. Rehabilitation assistance is funded by financial subsidies at all levels, with an average subsidy of RMB 16,000 per person per year for rehabilitation training programs for children with physical, intellectual, hearing and speech disabilities and children with autism, and subsidies of varying standards for the provision of crutches, wheel chairs and cerebral palsy wheelchairs. To date, the city has assisted 2,237 children with disabilities this year.
2. Yongding District
In 2024, the rehabilitation assistance program for children with disabilities is a key livelihood project of Yongding District of Zhangjiajie City, covering children with hearing, speech, physical and intellectual disabilities and children with autism aged 0-7 years old who have a need for rehabilitation as well as indications for adaptation. Children with household registration or valid residence permit in Yongding District, with relevant certificates and indications for rehabilitation services can apply for program subsidies from the Disabled Persons' Federation of Yongding District. Yongding District has six designated institutions for rehabilitation assistance program for children with disabilities, with a total expenditure of nearly 4 million yuan this year, providing rehabilitation assistance to 214 children with disabilities who meet the conditions for assistance, with a task completion rate of 135.44%, exceeding the annual target.
3. Nanxian County
The financial departments of Nanxian County have joined forces with the Disabled Persons' Federation and other departments to do a solid job of providing rehabilitation assistance to children with disabilities. The first is to guarantee infrastructure construction, fully promote the construction of designated rehabilitation institutions for children with disabilities, and support institutions such as the Nanxian Rehabilitation Center for Children with Disabilities and the Nanxian Maternal and Child Health Center to standardize the rehabilitation system for children with disabilities and enhance the level of assistance. The second is to increase the investment of funds, through a variety of initiatives to strengthen the bottom of the guarantee, for eligible children with disabilities rehabilitation assistance funds to provide protection. 2023 a total of more than 80 children with disabilities to provide rehabilitation services. Third, it is strengthening supervision of the use of funds to ensure that special funds are earmarked for specific purposes.
4. Liaoyang City
The Liaoyang Municipal Disabled Persons' Federation attaches great importance to rehabilitation and assistance for children with disabilities, and has implemented policies on rehabilitation and assistance for children with disabilities, raising the standard for subsidies for child rehabilitation programmes from 12,000 yuan per person per year to 18,000 yuan per person per year. It also implements the relevant implementation rules, adds new designated service organizations, and expands the scope of rehabilitation assistance, expanding the scope of rehabilitation training and subsidies to include children between the ages of 8 and 14 with severe disabilities, such as Grade 1 and 2 hearing (speech) and physical disabilities.
5. Haidian District
The Haidian District Disabled Persons' Federation carries out publicity activities to publicize the Lottery's public welfare funds and policies on the rehabilitation of children with disabilities, and raises the rate of awareness of policies on the rehabilitation of children with disabilities among residents of the district. During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, the Central Lottery Public Welfare Fund was invested to fund a rehabilitation assistance program for children with disabilities in Haidian District, providing subsidies for rehabilitation training services for eligible children with disabilities aged 0-6 years and children with autism, and reducing the burden on families of children with disabilities.
6. Yichun City
Yichun City has listed the rehabilitation assistance program for children with disabilities as its first practical task for people's livelihood in 2024. The city actively carries out rehabilitation assistance for children with disabilities, as well as care and assistance for persons with disabilities in difficulty, and provides rehabilitation assistance to eligible children aged 0-6 with visual, hearing, speech, physical and intellectual disabilities, as well as autistic children. At the same time, it actively explores the establishment of working mechanisms for early prevention, screening and referral, implements the designation of rehabilitation institutions and the management of aid recipients by name, and provides children with disabilities with cerebral palsy wheelchairs, crutches, wheel chairs and other rehabilitation and medical equipment.
7. Muyang County
The Muyang County Disabled Persons' Federation earnestly implements the policy on rehabilitation assistance for children with disabilities. It has started with policy protection, scientific and technological assistance, training and upgrading, as well as integration services to enhance the quality and effectiveness of rehabilitation services for children with disabilities. Information on 643 children with disabilities aged 0-6 and 290 children aged 7-14 in the county has been recorded and entered into the Precision Rehabilitation Service Management System, and the children were referred to various designated institutions for rehabilitation training.
Reprinted from RPNE Rehabilitation Expo
