Six of Shenzhen's district governments signed letters of intent
on Wednesday to outsource social services to nine non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), making it the second pilot city, after
Shanghai, to set up such a system.
According to the agreements between the parties, local
governments will pay 60,000 yuan ($8,200) a year to each of the 427
social service workers from the NGOs. The money will cover their
wages and welfare as well as their organizations' operational
costs.
Qiu Zhankai, vice-director of Shenzhen's civil affairs bureau,
said: "These workers will operate in several areas, including
judicial departments, associations for the disabled, schools, civil
affairs departments, women's federations, family planning agents
and trade unions."
Most of the NGO workers are expected to take part in the program
are recent graduates with degrees in social services.
They will formally become social workers after passing the first
national qualification examination for the profession in June.
The idea of social services is still new to China.
Li Ming, vice-mayor of Shenzhen, said: "We have achieved great
success in economic development, but efforts to improve social
conditions are lagging.
"Social services are increasingly seen as an efficient way to
solve people's problems."
The NGO workers will undergo six months' probation to see how
they perform, while the government collects feedback from the
people and agencies they serve, Li said.
(China Daily January 11, 2008)