Left-behind children play together in a mountainous area in central China's Hubei Province, July 29 2015. (Photo: IC)

BEIJING (Xinhua) -- China has appointed supervisors and directors for children in an effort to strengthen child protection and offer better services to those in need.

So far 45,000 child supervisors and 620,000 child directors have been appointed at the township and village levels respectively, said Ni Chunxia with the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) at a press conference on Monday.

The supervisors are responsible for making regular visits to children left behind by parents who have migrated to work in cities and children in difficult situations, according to a guideline released by the MCA in collaboration with other departments.

They should collect and update the information of children in need and help them get social assistance, said the guideline.

Training will be provided for the supervisors to help them better fulfil their jobs.