All in the Family

Abstract

The delivery systems for caring for dependent children have undergone a radical transformation in Reform-era China. Beginning in the mid-1980s, a dramatic resurgence in the number of abandoned infants as well as homeless youths from rural to urban areas placed great strains on the existing framework of state-run institutions for the young. China’s Civil Affairs branch has responded to the crisis by embracing a policy of “multi-approachism” 多元化 that places primacy on local experimentation and initiative. Civil Affairs workers have expressed the need to “societalize” 社会化 social welfare work, in which the government works hand-in-hand with both outside organizations and Chinese families to provide a better future for at-risk children. These findings suggest that societalization has led not to the privatization of services or the withdrawal of the state, but rather to the formation of creative partnerships between government and nongovernment entities in aiding the dependent child. Throughout the post-Mao period, we can also observe a paradigmatic shift from institution-based care to a family-centered approach that aims at providing the disadvantaged youngster with the warmth and love of the kin unit.