In 1996 the Chinese government invited Dr Robert Glover to become an advisor on childcare. Drawing on his experience in social care in the UK, Dr Glover proposed the implementation of family care to ensure that children could still be cared for in a family even when they were unable to live with their birth parents.

Why we worked in China

In the 1990s, China was heavily reliant on institutions to care for orphans and abandoned children. In 1998, when Care for Children started working in China, its institutions were filled with girls, a situation that reflected a national one-child policy and a cultural preference for boys. There was also no alternative care system in place, highlighted by the fact there was no word in Chinese to describe foster care.

What we did

From 1998, in partnership with the China Social Work Association under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Care for Children supported the Chinese government to transition from an institutional care system to a family care model. The government took on the responsibility for implementing family care, while Care for Children provided consultation and training, empowering government staff to ensure the quality and sustainability of the project. Care for Children also provided technical support and seed funding in the way of government-matched family allowances (50%) to build models of best practice and design and deliver a national family care training programme. This empowered the government to enact legislative support for family care. In 2014 the government issued 'National Regulations for Family Care' which required institutions to offer family care to any child who was suitable for family placement, indicating a permanent change in child welfare practice in favour of family care initiatives

What we've achieved: