This year's Government Work Report proposes to formulate policies to promote childbirth and provide childcare subsidies. During this year's National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Lei Haichao, Director of the National Health Commission, introduced that the commission is working with relevant departments to draft an operational plan for childcare subsidies. For a time, topics related to parenting subsidies have sparked heated discussions both online and offline. According to data from the National Health Commission in October last year, 23 provinces have explored the implementation of a maternity subsidy system at different levels. What types of childcare subsidies are included in practice in various regions? How to receive it? What role has it played since its implementation? How to further optimize relevant policies? The reporter conducted an interview. In addition to distributing cash, there are also childcare subsidies such as training subsidies, housing subsidies, and childcare subsidies, which are economic support policies implemented by government departments to alleviate the economic pressure of family childcare and optimize the reproductive environment. That is to say, the parenting subsidy directly issued by the government, "said Sun Zhongfeng, director of the Population Research Institute of Anhui University. At present, there are two main forms of parental subsidies: one is a one-time cash payment. For example, in Hefei City, Anhui Province, eligible couples who give birth to their second child will receive a one-time subsidy of 2000 yuan, and those who give birth to their third child will receive a one-time subsidy of 5000 yuan; The second is to provide subsidies on a regular basis. For example, Jinan City of Shandong Province will provide 600 yuan per month of childcare subsidies for the second or third child born to a registered residence in Jinan City who meets the relevant fertility policies until the child is 3 years old. Panzhihua City in Sichuan Province introduced a childcare subsidy policy in July 2021. The relevant policies are clear. For families with both spouses' registered residence in Panzhihua and local social insurance, who have their second and third children and settle in Panzhihua according to the policy, 500 yuan of childcare subsidy will be paid for each child every month until the child is 3 years old. As of now, the city's finance has cumulatively disbursed 28.9795 million yuan in childcare subsidies. Wu Lin, head of the Maternity and Children's Department of the Health Commission of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, said that couples with registered residence who have given birth to two children and three children in accordance with the policy and settled in Ningxia after 0:00 on January 1, 2023 can receive a one-time subsidy of 2000 yuan and 4000 yuan respectively, and at the same time, each child will receive a monthly child rearing subsidy of 200 yuan until the child is 3 years old. The funds required for the one-time subsidy shall be borne by the autonomous region at 60% and by the county (city, district) at 40%; The monthly childcare subsidy is fully borne by the county (city, district). According to interviews with reporters, the scope of childcare subsidies mostly covers families with two or three children, and families with one child are not included in the scope of enjoying preferential policies. From a broad perspective, the parenting subsidy policies currently implemented in various regions include maternity allowance, parenting subsidy, childcare subsidy, tax reduction, housing subsidy, etc Fan Wenting, lecturer of the School of Public Administration of Southwest Jiaotong University and member of the Marriage and Family Professional Committee of the Chinese Population Society, introduced that the maternity allowance is an economic subsidy for pregnant women, and the child care subsidy is funded by the government, which grants cash subsidies according to the number of children born by the family. Anhui Province issued a notice in January last year, proposing that for women who interrupt their employment due to childbirth, they can participate in employment skills training within 2 years of giving birth, and receive a training subsidy of 500-2400 yuan per person according to regulations. Those who meet the conditions will receive a daily living allowance of 50 yuan per person during the training period. Hefei issued a notice in May last year that families with registered residence of two or more children in the city will be given a purchase subsidy of 1.5% of the total price when they purchase new commercial housing. In Panzhihua, a total of 77 institutions voluntarily participated in the universal childcare subsidy voucher activity, and a total of 5099 childcare subsidy vouchers have been issued. Ningxia has increased maternity leave by 60 days, stipulating that male partners are entitled to 25 days of nursing leave. For those who participate in premarital medical examinations, their marriage leave has been adjusted from 10 days to 13 days. Parents of infants and young children aged 0-3 can also enjoy 10 days of parental leave per year. Continuously increasing investment in inclusive childcare services, as of the end of 2024, there are a total of 513 childcare institutions and 29700 childcare spaces in the region. The direct effect of policy implementation is to reduce the economic burden on parenting families. When the third child was born, community workers took the initiative to come and remind them to apply for maternity subsidies. The monthly payment of 200 yuan arrived on time. We often joke that the child comes with their own salary at birth Wang Lei, a mother of three in Yinchuan, Ningxia, said. I just gave birth to my third child in June 2024 and can receive a total of 11200 yuan. Although it cannot cover all the costs of parenting, it can bear some rigid expenses such as milk powder and diapers, effectively reducing the burden of parenting Ma Ying, a resident of Yuanzhou District, Guyuan City, Ningxia, calculated a sum of money. Peng Yue, who lives in Donghua Street, East District, Panzhihua City and is 34 years old this year, is a mother of two children. "Er Bao is over one year old and can receive a monthly childcare subsidy of 500 yuan, which can be used to buy milk powder and diapers." Many friends around Peng Yue have given birth to their second or third child. In addition to childcare subsidies, there are also childcare subsidy vouchers. Children under the age of 3 can receive 200 yuan per person per month when they enter daycare, and the annual amount should not exceed 2000 yuan, which can also reduce a lot of burden, "Peng Yue said. During the two years of policy implementation, Ningxia has provided a total of 120 million yuan in childcare subsidies, benefiting 33000 families. In 2023, the total population of the region will be 73000, with a birth rate of 10.02 ‰; The number of births in 2024 has rebounded to 80000, a year-on-year increase of about 10%, with the proportion of second children and above steadily increasing. From the current situation, childcare subsidies and their supporting measures have indeed had the effect of alleviating the economic pressure on families. But for families, having children is a topic that requires comprehensive consideration, taking into account the costs of reproduction, nurturing, and education Sun Zhongfeng said. How to further optimize policies? Regarding policy optimization, Associate Professor Lei Anqi from the Department of Administration and Sociology at the Law School of Ningxia University suggested that the subsidy amount could be increased, the three child subsidy could be moderately increased, and the possibility of covering one child families could be explored to enhance policy incentive effects. Expand the scope of application, gradually relax the conditions for applying for subsidies, moderately include non registered residence residents who have worked in one place for a long time, and improve policy inclusiveness. The childcare subsidy policy should balance fairness and regionalism. Zhu Tongyu, Vice Dean of Shanghai Medical College at Fudan University, believes that there are significant regional differences in China's fertility rate, with an overall trend of "low in the east and high in the west". Compared to big cities, the same childcare subsidy support is more conducive to improving the fertility level in counties and rural areas, but these areas often face financial pressure. Therefore, a national fertility support fund should be established, exploring the establishment of a childcare subsidy system supported by finance and diversified funding sources, and tilting towards key regions and populations. Take the lead in piloting the one-child subsidy in first tier cities and areas with abundant finances and low birth rates. Whether parenting subsidies can fully play a role depends on the source, target, amount, method, and type of subsidies. When formulating policies, consideration should be given to local financial pressures and the actual needs of the masses in order to enhance the operability and sustainability of childcare subsidy policies Fan Wenting said. In terms of improving supporting policies, Lei Anqi suggested that childcare support should be improved, the development of universal childcare institutions should be accelerated, the cost of family parenting should be reduced, and the willingness to have children should be increased. Establish a long-term guarantee mechanism, promote joint funding from the central and local governments, ensure the stability of subsidy policies, and explore comprehensive measures such as tax reductions, housing support, and workplace friendliness to form a long-term incentive system for childbirth. Sun Zhongfeng also looks forward to more policy measures supporting active childbirth in the future. "The population problem is a long-term, global, fundamental, and strategic issue, and all sectors of society should establish a scientific population development concept. We need to increase support for childcare institutions, increase the supply of professional and inclusive childcare places, and improve the relevant social security system, such as subsidizing the social security of parenting parents, subsidizing enterprises that recruit women of childbearing age, and increasing the medical reimbursement ratio for minors. Finally, we need to create a fertility friendly social atmosphere to help the general public understand and support national and local policies related to childbirth and population structure optimization. In short, to increase fertility willingness, policies should be formulated based on demand to alleviate people's worries. (New Society)