China had included 253,000 unsupported children – children with parents who are unable to care for them – in a designated social security system as of the end of 2020, an official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Monday.

A monthly subsistence allowance of 1,140 yuan ($176) is provided per child, the same amount provided to orphans, said Ni Chunxia, deputy director of the ministry's child welfare department, at a press conference.

Ni also explained the classification of the "unsupported children".

Children are considered unsupported if their parents are both seriously disabled or ill, in prison, in drug rehabilitation, missing or subject to other measures restricting their personal freedom, or if they have had their guardianship revoked or been repatriated (expelled) from the country, or where one parent is dead or missing and the other parent is in one of the eight outlined circumstances.

Statistics show that 45.1 percent of the 253,000 unsupported children are those with one parent dead and the other missing, severely disabled or in one of the other above-mentioned circumstances, said Ni.

Children whose parents are both seriously disabled account for 27.4 percent, and those whose parents are in prison take up 8.3 percent, said Ni, adding that 85.3 percent of unsupported children are residents in rural areas.

Ni pointed out that many cities, including Beijing and Chongqing, have rolled out projects that disburse funds for health and education for this group of children. 

(With input from Xinhua)