BEIJING -- The central government on Thursday issued a guideline on taking better care of children who live in difficulties due to poverty, disabilities or lack of custody.

The guideline, issued by the State Council, stressed ensuring subsistence, basic medical care, schooling, custody and other forms of assistance for children in difficulty.

The guideline targets children who grow up in poverty and thus have poor access to medical treatment or education, who have difficulty in receiving rehabilitation and nursing due to their disabilities, and who are subject to abuse, abandonment, or accidental injuries for lack of or improper family custody.

Children with no or incompetent guardians, or living in families with financial difficulties, should be given relief to ensure their subsistence, according to the guideline.

The guideline also suggested more medical assistance for children suffering from serious diseases or disabilities, as well as providing 12-year free education for disabled children in financially challenged families.

It highlighted ensuring fostering for children who have no guardians, or are not taken good care of by their guardians, including underage children of prisoners and drug addicts isolated in mandatory detoxification institutions.