Improve the quality of care services for the left-behind elderly in rural areas! Our province has issued a three-year action plan

Recently, 17 departments, including the Yunnan Provincial Department of Civil Affairs and the Social Work Department of the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China, jointly issued the "Three-year Action Plan for Improving the Quality of Care Services for the Left-behind Elderly in Rural Areas in Yunnan Province (2024-2026)", proposing to strive to build a care service system for the rural left-behind elderly that is coordinated with the economic and social development of our province and compatible with high-quality development by the end of 2026.

The quality of care services for the left-behind elderly in rural areas of Yunnan Province has been improved

Three-year action plan (2024-2026)

In order to implement the decision-making and deployment of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government on the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy and strengthening the care services for the left-behind elderly in rural areas, implement the relevant requirements of the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Aging Undertakings and Pension Service System in Yunnan Province", accelerate the construction of the care service system for the left-behind elderly in rural areas, and further establish and improve the work system of family responsibility, grassroots leadership, social coordination, national action, and government support, combined with the actual situation of our province, this action plan is formulated.

1. General requirements

(1) Guiding ideology

Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will thoroughly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important exposition on pension services and the spirit of Yunnan's important speech, fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, adhere to the people-centered development philosophy, and take the promotion of the rural left-behind elderly to enjoy a happy life in their old age as the foothold, strive to improve the care service network, enhance the ability of care services, and extensively carry out mutual assistance and volunteer service activities, so that the rural left-behind elderly can receive basic life care and better care services.

(2) Work objectives

By the end of 2026, the care service system for the left-behind elderly in rural areas that is coordinated with the economic and social development of our province and compatible with high-quality development will be fully completed, the social atmosphere of old-age care, filial piety and respect for the elderly will be stronger, care services will be widely carried out, and the sense of gain, happiness and security of the left-behind elderly in rural areas will be significantly enhanced.

(3) Service recipients

Left-behind elderly persons in rural areas are elderly persons over the age of 60 who have left the county area of their household registration for more than 6 months to engage in work, business or other production and business activities, and who have no supporters or no supporters (hereinafter referred to as "left-behind elderly").

Second, the main tasks

(1) Complete working mechanisms and carry out regular visits

1. Improve working mechanisms. Further improve the work mechanism for the care and service of the left-behind elderly under the leadership of the Party committee, in which the government supports and guarantees, departments coordinate and cooperate, the state (city) coordinates and guides, the county (city, district) organization and implementation, the township (town) is specifically responsible, the mass organizations actively participate, the village (resident) committee and the elderly association play a backbone role, and social forces widely participate. (Led by the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, with the cooperation of all relevant units)

2. Find out the basics. All localities should organize a comprehensive investigation of the left-behind elderly in their jurisdiction, focusing on the elderly, disabled, and disabled left-behind elderly in economically disadvantaged families, and should regularly organize a thorough investigation of the left-behind elderly, and grasp the family status, health status, mental state, safety situation, health status, living environment, service needs and other information of the left-behind elderly in the jurisdiction, so as to achieve accurate definition, accurate investigation, and accurate identification, to ensure accurate positioning to the village, accurate identification to the household, It is necessary to establish and improve a detailed and complete information ledger, implement classified dynamic management, and enter it into the Yunnan Provincial Pension Service Management Platform, at least to achieve "one update per quarter". At the provincial, municipal, and county levels, it is necessary to grasp the overall information such as the number, scale, basic distribution, and main characteristics of the left-behind elderly in their jurisdictions. (Led by the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, with the cooperation of the Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security)

3. Categorize and determine care service recipients. Accurately grasp the willingness of the left-behind elderly to receive care services, and divide the care service recipients into three groups, such as key populations, sub-key populations, and general populations, based on basic information such as age, residence status, physical condition, and living conditions, and make dynamic adjustments in a timely manner according to actual conditions.

(1) Key populations. Including: left-behind elderly people aged ≥ 80 years old, severely disabled (disability level 1-2) aged < 80 years old, severely disabled or completely disabled, left-behind elderly people who have not undergone ability assessment but have been bedridden for a long time due to physical reasons (classified as severely disabled or completely disabled), including elderly people with dementia.

(2) Sub-key populations. Including: Left-behind elderly people aged < 80 years old who are moderately disabled or have not undergone ability assessment but have difficulty moving due to physical reasons (classified as moderate disability).

(3) General population. Including: left-behind seniors aged < 80 years old who are mildly disabled or in good health. (Led by the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, with the cooperation of all relevant units)

4. Carry out regular visits. According to the requirements of the "Yunnan Provincial Implementation Plan for Carrying out Visiting and Care Services for the Elderly with Special Difficulties", with the county (city, district) as the unit, the township (town) government will coordinate and guide, and the village (resident) committee will assist in the implementation, and establish a regular visit system for the left-behind elderly. Implement differentiated and targeted visit and care services for three types of populations: key populations, sub-key populations, and general populations. Based on the physical condition and service needs of the left-behind elderly, the service force should be scientifically arranged, service methods should be flexibly adopted, and the frequency of services should be reasonably determined, and in principle, the frequency of visits and care should be increased at least once a month; Regions with the capacity may explore the establishment of a risk assessment system for the left-behind elderly, formulate risk level standards, and promptly implement care and assistance for the left-behind elderly with high risk levels. The county level should establish a rapid response and emergency response mechanism of "smooth information, clear processes, unified command, clear responsibilities, rapid response, and effective disposal", and improve emergency response plans. (Led by the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, with the cooperation of all relevant units)

(2) Emphasize family responsibility and highlight the main body of care

5. Strengthen family entity responsibility. The family is the main body responsible for the support and care services for the left-behind elderly, and children or other support obligors should perform their obligations to provide financial support, daily care, and spiritual comfort to the elderly in accordance with the law, and avoid allowing the elderly with moderate or higher levels of disability to live alone. The supporter shall fulfill the obligation of support in accordance with the law. Children or other persons with support obligations shall regularly visit or greet the left-behind elderly, and must not neglect or neglect the elderly. Village (resident) committees should strengthen supervision and guidance of family guardianship, and when discovering that the children of left-behind elderly persons or other supporters or supporters are not performing their obligations to support or support them in accordance with the law, they should admonish and stop them; where the circumstances are serious and constitute a crime, the public security organs are to pursue criminal responsibility in accordance with law. Where the children of left-behind elderly persons or other persons with support obligations abuse the elderly, the public security organs are to handle it in light of the circumstances and in accordance with law. (The Provincial Public Security Department and the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs are responsible in accordance with their duties and division of labor)

6. Encourage relatives, friends, and neighbors to help each other. Encourage family members, relatives and friends to give life care and spiritual care to the left-behind elderly, and encourage neighbors to provide care services for the left-behind elderly. Where children are unable to perform their support obligations due to reasons such as going out to work, on the premise of respecting the wishes of the elderly, the person with the support obligation may sign an entrusted care agreement with relatives or other persons to properly arrange the elderly's life, and at the same time promptly and truthfully report to the village (resident) committee information such as whereabouts and contact information. (Led by the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, with the cooperation of all relevant units)

7. Strengthen the basic role of village (resident) committees. Village (resident) committees should assist in doing a good job of checking the basic information of the left-behind elderly in their jurisdiction; regularly visit the left-behind elderly through methods such as telephone greetings, door-to-door visits, and centralized visits, to keep abreast of the living conditions of the left-behind elderly, and promote the formation of a good rural social practice of honoring parents, respecting the elderly, helping each other, and getting close to each other. Encourage village sages, social caring enterprises and individuals to fund and carry out care services for the left-behind elderly. (Led by the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, with the cooperation of all relevant units)

(3) Mobilize social forces to carry out care services

8. Give full play to the unique advantages of grassroots associations for the elderly. Support townships (towns) and villages (communities) in establishing associations for the elderly or other organizations for the elderly, and encourage the left-behind elderly to join associations and help each other for the elderly. Encourage and guide rural associations for the elderly to actively participate in and organize care services for the left-behind elderly, carry out activities such as recreation, sports and entertainment, education and training, and knowledge lectures that the elderly like to see, and provide services such as safeguarding rights and interests and mutual assistance for the elderly. Encourage all localities to entrust rural mutual pension service stations and other old-age service facilities to the operation and management of social forces such as elderly associations, provide services to the left-behind elderly, and include qualified elderly associations in the government's procurement of services. (The Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, the Provincial Department of Finance, and the Provincial Office on Aging are responsible for the division of labor in accordance with their duties)

9. Widely carry out caring volunteer services. Guide urban and rural volunteers and volunteer service organizations to provide left-behind elderly people with volunteer services that are rich in content, diverse in form, and meet their needs. Encourage young and healthy elderly people to provide volunteer services within their capacity to the elderly, disabled, special family planning families, and left-behind elderly, and explore the establishment of a circular mechanism for volunteer service and mutual assistance. (Led by the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, with the cooperation of all relevant units)

10. Explore and promote the participation of social work professionals in care services. Give full play to the advantages of the social work profession, and provide services such as emotional counseling, psychological counseling, spiritual comfort, intergenerational communication, family relationship adjustment, and social integration for the left-behind elderly through government procurement of the services of social work institutions. (Led by the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, with the cooperation of all relevant units)

11. Support social organizations and mass autonomous organizations in providing care services. Implement preferential policies such as tax reductions and exemptions, accelerate the incubation and cultivation of specialized service institutions for the elderly, and improve their ability to carry out professional services such as safety protection, life care, emergency assistance, and rehabilitation care for the left-behind elderly. Encourage rural collective economic organizations and other social forces to participate in caring for the left-behind elderly. Where conditions permit, the left-behind elderly can be included in the government's purchase of old-age care services, and specialized old-age service organizations will provide meals, cleaning, rehabilitation care and other content for care. Public welfare posts may be set up for childcare service positions in social service organizations such as domestic service industries, property management services, and pension service establishments set up by village (resident) committees and other mass autonomous organizations, including elderly care services, village-level elderly assistance services, and convenience services (distribution, canteens, etc.), and villagers may be recruited for employment and visit and care services in accordance with the requirements. (The Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security, the Provincial Department of Finance, and the Yunnan Provincial Taxation Bureau of the State Administration of Taxation are responsible for the division of labor in accordance with their duties)

(4) Strengthen government support and improve the quality of care

12. Increase the extent of social assistance for the left-behind elderly. All localities should give full play to the role of temporary assistance in "relieving emergencies and difficulties", and earnestly resolve the sudden, urgent, and temporary basic living difficulties of the left-behind elderly. Implement the rural minimum livelihood guarantee policy, and promptly include eligible left-behind elderly people in the scope of protection. Conscientiously organize and carry out centralized care services for the economically disadvantaged and disabled elderly, and implement a subsidy system for the elderly. Improve the urban and rural medical assistance system and the disease emergency assistance system, and promptly include the left-behind elderly who meet the requirements in the scope of medical assistance. (The Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, the Provincial Health Commission, and the Provincial Medical Insurance Bureau are responsible for the division of labor in accordance with their duties)

13. Implement social security policies for the left-behind elderly. We will improve the basic old-age insurance system for urban and rural residents, continue to expand the coverage of insurance, and issue basic pensions to the elderly who have participated in the pension on time and in full. Improve the basic medical insurance system for urban and rural residents, promote the full coverage of left-behind elderly insurance, and for the left-behind elderly who meet the conditions for urban and rural medical assistance, the part of individual contributions shall be subsidized by the medical assistance fund in accordance with regulations. Do a good job of contracting services for family doctors for the elderly, focusing on contracting services for patients with hypertension, diabetes, tuberculosis, and severe mental disorders. Include visits and care for the elderly with disabilities in the "Volunteer Service Activities for Caring for Persons with Disabilities", promptly provide basic rehabilitation services such as adaptation of assistive devices and rehabilitation training guidance to the left-behind elderly with disabilities who need rehabilitation services, and issue subsidies for the disabled to eligible left-behind elderly with disabilities. Promptly include eligible housing for the left-behind elderly in the scope of subsidies for the renovation of dilapidated houses in rural areas. (The Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, the Provincial Department of Finance, the Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security, the Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Provincial Health Commission, the Provincial Medical Insurance Bureau, and the Provincial Disabled Persons' Federation are responsible in accordance with their duties and division of labor)

14. Vigorously improve the capacity of rural elderly care services. Incorporate care services for the left-behind elderly into the rural public services of key agricultural and rural planning. Strengthen the construction of township regional pension service centers, and open them to the left-behind elderly in need while meeting the needs of rural people living in extreme poverty. We will develop meal assistance services for the elderly in rural areas, further improve rural elderly care service facilities, and provide convenient life care services for the elderly in rural areas. Give full play to the important role of rural mutual pension service facilities in the rural pension service system, and provide rural elderly care services with rich content, diverse forms and needs. Build a comprehensive cultural service center at the grassroots level, integrate resources such as rural party building activity rooms, rural bookstores, and schools, and enrich the spiritual and cultural life of the elderly. Actively promote the integrated development of medical and health care and elderly care services. Support the use of modern science and technology such as the mobile Internet and the Internet of Things, rely on urban and rural community service facilities for the elderly, obtain relevant services for the left-behind elderly, and communicate with their children who go out to work, etc., to build an efficient, convenient, and applicable intelligent service network platform. (The Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the Provincial Health Commission, and the Provincial Office on Aging are responsible for the division of labor in accordance with their duties)

15. Guide migrant workers to return to their hometowns for employment and entrepreneurship. Focusing on the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, policies and measures to promote rural employment and entrepreneurship have been introduced, and rural labor force has been actively guided and encouraged to find employment in the local area. Give full play to the role of grassroots service platforms and helpers, and provide comprehensive services such as policy consultation, employment guidance, labor rights protection, and social security for returning migrant workers to start a business and find employment. (Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security is responsible)

16. Strengthen efforts to protect the safety of the left-behind elderly. It is necessary to include the work of visiting and caring for the left-behind elderly in the task of building safety, and make overall progress. Carry out in-depth activities to bring the law into villages, and increase the awareness of the left-behind elderly to protect their lawful rights and interests in accordance with the law, and their ability to protect themselves from safety precautions. For contradictions and disputes involving the left-behind elderly, all relevant departments should actively carry out investigation and resolution work in conjunction with their own functions. Conduct that infringes upon the lawful rights and interests of the elderly is discovered in the course of work should be reported to the relevant departments as soon as possible, and the police should be reported to the police as soon as they fall within the jurisdiction of the public security organs, so as to truly ensure the safety of the lives and property of the elderly left behind. All local departments for the elderly should actively coordinate with the procuratorates at the same level to initiate public prosecutions in accordance with law for illegal and criminal acts that infringe on the lawful rights and interests of the elderly, and coordinate with the people's courts at the same level to open up green channels for litigation by the left-behind elderly. All levels of legal aid institutions should actively provide legal aid services to left-behind elderly persons who meet the requirements for legal aid. (The Political and Legal Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial Court, the Provincial Procuratorate, the Provincial Public Security Department, the Provincial Department of Justice, and the Provincial Office on Aging are responsible for the division of labor in accordance with their duties)

3. Phased arrangement

(1) Deployment and launch (April-May 2024)

The civil affairs departments, in conjunction with relevant departments, are to draft specific implementation plans in light of actual conditions, clarifying work tasks, phased goals, methods and steps, safeguard measures, and so forth, establishing inter-departmental coordination mechanisms, clarifying departmental responsibilities, implementation entities, and time limits for completion. The specific implementation plans or implementation rules of each state (city) shall be submitted to the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs before the end of May 2024.

(2) Key promotion (June 2024 to the end of December 2025)

Local civil affairs departments have integrated all aspects of work, solidly promoted various key tasks, focused on making up for weaknesses, and increased the intensity of tackling tough problems. By the end of June 2024, a comprehensive survey of the left-behind elderly in the jurisdiction will be completed, and the information system will be updated, files will be established for all the left-behind elderly, targeted assistance measures will be formulated for the key groups found in the survey, and a normalized assistance mechanism will be established and improved; phased results will be achieved by the end of 2024, and the visit and care services will be carried out generally and effectively; by the end of 2025, the expected goals will be basically achieved, and the monthly visit rate of the left-behind elderly will reach 100%.

(3) Consolidation and improvement (January 2026 to the end of December 2026)

Conscientiously summarize the effectiveness and experience of the work, promptly sort out the effective practices and cooperation methods formed in the work, consolidate the results of the phased work, put forward improvement measures for the existing difficult problems, praise and encourage units and individuals with outstanding performance in accordance with relevant regulations, and continue to promote the high-quality development of care services for the left-behind elderly.

Fourth, organizational guarantees

(1) Strengthen organizational leadership. All localities and departments should fully understand the importance of carrying out a three-year action to improve the quality of care services for the left-behind elderly, and make timely arrangements for deployment. All levels of working committees on aging, joint conferences on elderly care services, etc., should include care services for the left-behind elderly in the scope of overall guidance, and promote the coordinated development of care services for the left-behind elderly, aging work, and elderly care services. Local finance departments at all levels should optimize and adjust the expenditure structure, support the work of caring for the left-behind elderly, encourage areas with the capacity to use a certain proportion of village collective income for care services for the left-behind elderly, and carry out care services for the left-behind elderly through the purchase of services and other forms. Encourage regions with the capacity to coordinate the resources of services for the elderly in their jurisdictions, explore the establishment of a list of care services for the left-behind elderly, and periodically sort out and publish the content of care service projects for the left-behind elderly and channels for obtaining resources.

(2) Strengthen publicity and guidance. It is necessary to strengthen the publicity of laws and regulations such as the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly" and the "Regulations on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly in Yunnan Province", strengthen the publicity of the traditional virtues of filial piety and respect for the elderly, raise the awareness of children or other supporters to abide by the law, and give play to the exemplary and guiding role of filial piety and respect for the elderly. It is necessary to promptly research, summarize, publicize, and promote the advanced experience in the practice of care services for the left-behind elderly in various localities, and create a friendly environment in which the whole society treats correctly, actively accepts, cares for and cares for the left-behind elderly.

(3) Strengthen supervision and inspection. All localities should include the three-year action to improve the quality of care services for the left-behind elderly in their annual key work, and pay close attention to formulating specific implementation plans or implementation rules in light of actual conditions, and strengthen oversight and inspection of the implementation of this implementation plan. Each provincial-level responsible unit and the civil affairs department of each prefecture (city) shall report the work progress and excellent cases within the department or jurisdiction to the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs before June 15 and November 15 of each year in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and submit no less than one piece of information (email: [email protected]) every year.

(4) Strict liability. The local government responsibility system is implemented for the care and service of the left-behind elderly. All localities should focus on preventing life safety risks, with the elderly and disabled left-behind from economically disadvantaged families as the key targets, urging all parties to perform their duties of care, strengthening basic services such as life care, spiritual comfort, safe guardianship, and protection of rights and interests, to prevent the occurrence of problems that impact the bottom line of social morality. Work tasks should be broken down in a timely manner, strictly implement responsible units and responsible persons, formulate mechanisms for evaluation, accountability, and rewards and punishments for care services for the left-behind elderly, and carry out supervision and notification in a timely manner. Departments and individuals that do not pay enough attention, take unrealistic measures, and do not implement tasks should be seriously held accountable, especially those who are not clear, who are not solid in the investigation of risks and hidden dangers, who are not timely in handling emergencies, and who are only in the form of care services.

Source: Yunnan Provincial Department of Civil Affairs