Program launched to care for kids with special needs

Parents of children with special needs or disabilities can be anxious about finding a reliable caretaker for their kids for when they, the parents, die, given the absence of a long-term public support system.

To assuage such worries, a number of charities led by Inclusion China, a non-profit run by guardians of children living with special educational needs, plans to roll out an experimental program aimed at sustaining such kids in the long run, using a special-needs trust as a vehicle.

The program attempts to create a platform where trust companies, after receiving a client's lifelong savings, can buy beneficiaries services from a list of professional care providers.

The caregivers are also subject to the platform's vetting procedures to make sure they do not abuse the money.

Care services in China are just picking up, making it hard for trustees to find suitable care providers and to live up to client expectations.

Experts say the arrangement is expected to benefit up to an estimated 20 million people with mental disabilities in China, along with their parents and other family members, as it helps to provide for beneficiaries in a more efficient way than trustees could previously achieve.

The project could also be of help for people saving for their old age, as China grapples with a fast-aging population, they said.

Zhang Man, a member of Inclusion China's executive council, said the platform will help filter care providers for trust companies and create a parent committee overseeing their service.

"Hopefully we will establish an ecology involving trust firms, quality caregivers and parents seeking to care for their children using their lifelong savings," she said.