Implementation Evaluation of the Care and Protection Program for Rural Left-Behind Children in the Northeast Frontier Region of China

Abstract

This study evaluates the implementation process of the rural left-behind children care and protection program in Wangqing County, Jilin Province, from a social work perspective. Through a questionnaire survey of 100 child welfare officers and in-depth interviews with 10 child welfare officers, combined with government reports and other secondary data, the study systematically examined the current status of project implementation and service outcomes. The findings reveal: (1) The project's service recipients exhibit an overflow effect, with the actual coverage exceeding the original target population and extending to vulnerable groups such as children raised by grandparents, children from single-parent families, children from families with disabled or ill parents, and disabled children; (2) The completion rates of service projects show significant differences: basic services such as guardian qualification confirmation and educational assistance have high completion rates, while developmental services such as temporary care, mental health services, and after-school learning support are severely inadequate; (3) child welfare officers have voluntarily expanded service content to include supplementary services such as household assistance, activity organization, and economic aid. The study indicates that the current child care service system in rural areas of the northeastern border regions of China suffers from structural imbalances, necessitating improvements to service supply mechanisms at the policy design level, particularly in areas such as mental health support and temporary care. The research findings provide empirical evidence for optimizing child welfare policies in border regions of China.