Decree 131/2026/NĐ-CP PROVIDING FOR CLAUSE 3 OF ARTICLE 160 OF THE LAW ON PROTECTION OF CHILDREN IN CIVIL MATTERS REGARDING THE USE OF FUNDS FROM THE FUND TO SUPPORT MINORS WHO ARE VICTIMS AND ARE UNABLE TO PAY FOR EMERGENCY TREATMENT

DECREE

PROVISIONS IN DETAIL OF CLAUSE 3, ARTICLE 160 OF THE YOUTH LAW ON THE USE OF FUNDS FROM THE CHILDREN'S WELFARE FUND FOR YOUNG PERSONS WHO ARE VICTIMS AND NEED IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION BUT CANNOT BE IMMEDIATELY COMPENSATED

BASED ON Decree on Government Organization No. 63/2025/QH15;

BASED ON Child Protection Law No. 102/2016/QH13 amended and supplemented by Law No. 28/2018/QH14;

BASED ON Youth Law on Legal Affairs No. 59/2024/QH15 amended and supplemented by Law No. 85/2025/QH15;

BASED ON State Budget Law No. 89/2025/QH15;

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROPOSAL OF THE MINISTER OF HEALTH;

THE GOVERNMENT ISSUES THIS DECREE TO PROVIDE SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR CLAUSE 3, ARTICLE 160 OF THE YOUTH LAW ON LEGAL AFFAIRS RELATING TO THE USE OF FUNDS FROM THE CHILDREN'S WELFARE FUND FOR YOUNG PERSONS WHO ARE VICTIMS AND NEED IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION BUT CANNOT BE IMMEDIATELY COMPENSATED. CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS ARTICLE 1. SCOPE OF APPLICATION

This Decree provides specific provisions for Clause 3, Article 160 of the Youth Law on Legal Affairs concerning the use of funds from the Children's Welfare Fund for young persons who are victims and need immediate medical attention but cannot be immediately compensated, including principles, conditions, level of funding, application files, procedures, formalities for advance payment, settlement, repayment, and final accounting of funds.

ARTICLE 2. APPLICABLE SUBJECTS

This Decree applies to the Children's Welfare Fund at provincial and municipal levels, the National Children's Welfare Fund (hereinafter collectively referred to as the Children's Welfare Fund), young persons who are victims, those responsible for compensation, those with obligations to compensate, medical institutions, agencies, organizations, individuals, families related to youth legal affairs activities.

ARTICLE 3. PRINCIPLES FOR THE USE OF FUNDS FROM THE CHILDREN'S WELFARE FUND FOR YOUNG PERSONS WHO ARE VICTIMS

1. Ensuring prompt and easy access for young persons who are victims to receive timely support.

2. Using funds from the Children's Welfare Fund only for medical expenses during the critical care phase. Medical institutions must provide emergency treatment in accordance with laws on medical services even without advance payment from the Children's Welfare Fund.

3. No discrimination against young persons who are victims based on personal characteristics, family circumstances, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or any other reason.

4. Transparency and compliance with legal provisions.

CHAPTER II CONDITIONS, LEVEL OF FUNDING, APPLICATION FILES, PROCEDURES, AND FORMALITIES FOR THE USE OF FUNDS FOR YOUNG PERSONS WHO ARE VICTIMS

ARTICLE 4. CONDITIONS FOR THE USE OF FUNDS FROM THE CHILDREN'S WELFARE FUND FOR YOUNG PERSONS WHO ARE VICTIMS

1. The use of funds from the Children's Welfare Fund may be implemented when all of the following conditions are met:

a) Young persons who are victims have been subjected to harm affecting their life and health, currently in critical condition requiring immediate medical attention at a medical institution to prevent serious consequences;

b) Those responsible for compensation cannot immediately provide compensation.

2. The conditions specified in point b of paragraph 1 include the following cases:

a) Poor households;

b) Near-poor households;

c) Deceased individuals;

d) Individuals who have fled or whose identity as the perpetrator has not been determined.

c) Dead;

d) Fled or the perpetrator of the criminal act has not been identified.

Article 5. Expenses from the Child Protection Fund for Minors Who Are Victims

1. The expenses from the Child Protection Fund for minors who are victims and whose lives or health require immediate medical treatment shall be based on the cost of medical examination and treatment for such minors, excluding costs for medical examinations and treatments requested by the victim, and costs reimbursable under health insurance (if applicable), but not exceeding 100 times the minimum wage prescribed by the State for a minor who is a victim.

2. Annually, the Child Protection Fund shall prepare a budget for expenses related to medical examination and treatment for minors who are victims as part of its overall operational budget in accordance with current regulations.

Article 6. Application for Advance Payment from the Child Protection Fund

The application for advance payment from the Child Protection Fund for minors who are victims (hereinafter referred to simply as "the Application") includes the following documents:

1. A support request form in accordance with Form No. 01 attached hereto and appended to this Decree.

2. A confirmation document from the local People's Committee for cases specified in Clause 2, Point a, b, c of this Decree.

3. A confirmation document from the public security agency currently handling the case concerning the minor who is a victim and for cases specified in Clause 2, Point d of this Decree.

4. An advance payment request form for medical examination and treatment expenses in accordance with Form No. 03 attached hereto and appended to this Decree.

Article 7. Procedure and Process for Advance Payment from the Child Protection Fund

1. The representative of the minor who is a victim shall directly or through postal services or electronic means submit the support request form in accordance with Form No. 01 attached hereto and appended to this Decree to the medical facility where treatment is being provided for the minor who is a victim.

2. Within one working day from receipt of the support request form submitted by the representative of the minor who is a victim, the medical facility shall confirm the emergency condition of the minor, prepare an approval confirmation form in accordance with Form No. 02A attached hereto and appended to this Decree, and submit it directly or through postal services or electronic means to the public security agency currently handling the case.

3. Within two working days from receipt of the approval confirmation form, the public security agency currently handling the case shall verify the information about the minor who is a victim, the person responsible for compensation, and any person responsible for compensation under Clause 2, Point d of this Decree (if applicable), and send it to the medical facility. If no verification is made, a written response with reasons must be provided.

4. Within one working day from receipt of the confirmation document from the public security agency currently handling the case, if the person responsible for compensation does not fall under Clause 2, Point d of this Decree, the medical facility shall continue to prepare an approval confirmation form in accordance with Form No. 02B attached hereto and appended to this Decree, and submit it directly or through postal services or electronic means to the local People's Committee where the person responsible for compensation resides. If information on the death of the person responsible for compensation is obtained from the Electronic Population Registry Database, the medical facility shall not send an approval confirmation form to the local People's Committee.

5. Within two working days from receipt of the approval confirmation form submitted by the medical facility, the local People's Committee where the person responsible for compensation resides shall verify whether the person responsible for compensation falls under Clause 2, Point a, b, c of this Decree (if applicable), and send it to the medical facility. If no verification is made, a written response with reasons must be provided.

6. After receiving confirmation documents from the public security agency currently handling the case or the local People's Committee where the person responsible for compensation resides, the medical facility shall prepare an advance payment request form in accordance with Form No. 03 attached hereto and appended to this Decree along with a budget estimate of emergency medical expenses, and submit it to the Child Protection Fund, specifically:

a) Medical facilities directly under central ministries or agencies shall send one copy of the Application to the Vietnam Child Protection Fund;

b) Medical facilities not directly under central ministries or agencies shall send one copy of the Application to the provincial Child Protection Fund where such medical facility is located; in cases where there is no provincial Child Protection Fund, it shall be sent to the Vietnam Child Protection Fund.

7. Within one working day from receipt of a complete and valid Application, the Child Protection Fund shall review and approve the budget estimate and provide advance payment to the medical facility for cases where the person responsible for compensation falls under Clause 2, Points a, b, c of this Decree (as confirmed by the local People's Committee). If additional advance payments are required, the medical facility shall continue to submit an advance payment request form along with a supplementary budget estimate to the Child Protection Fund. The total amount of all advances shall not exceed the provisions in Clause 1 of Article 5 of this Decree. In cases where there is insufficient advance funding for the medical facility, the Child Protection Fund may use other lawful sources to provide temporary financial assistance. If such provision cannot be made, a written notification must be sent to the medical facility and a report submitted to the superior management agency. The superior management agency of the Child Protection Fund shall send a document to the same-level finance department for consideration and reporting to the competent authority for allocation of funds to the Child Protection Fund for temporary payment to the medical facility.

8. In the case where the person compensating falls under the category specified in Point d of Clause 2, Article 4, as confirmed by the public security agency handling the matter, the Child Protection Fund may mobilize lawful sources to advance funds to medical facilities. If the Child Protection Fund is unable to mobilize such funds, it shall issue a written response to the medical facility and specify the reasons therefor, while simultaneously reporting to the higher-level management authority.

9. In the event that during the process of processing the advance payment procedure, the person compensating or their representative pays for the medical expenses, the medical facility must notify the Child Protection Fund in writing to halt the advance funding procedure.

10. The medical facility and the Child Protection Fund are permitted to utilize the Electronic Vital Records Database to verify whether the person compensating has died.

Article 8. Payment of Medical Expenses with the Child Protection Fund

1. Within three working days from when the minor victim is no longer in critical condition, the medical facility shall directly or through a postal service or electronic means submit a request for payment, an itemized bill of medical expenses, and relevant documents pertaining to the treatment process of the minor victim who was in critical condition, excluding any expenses incurred at the request of the person compensating or reimbursable by health insurance, to the Child Protection Fund.

2. If the actual medical expenses are less than the advance payment made, the medical facility shall be responsible for returning the excess amount to the Child Protection Fund.

3. If the actual medical expenses exceed the advance payment, the Child Protection Fund shall pay the remaining balance to the medical facility but not exceeding the maximum expenditure limit specified in Clause 1 of Article 5 of this Decree.

4. After completing the payment, the Child Protection Fund shall directly or through a postal service or electronic means send one copy of the Payment File to the public security agency handling the matter.

Article 9. Refund of Funds to the Child Protection Fund or National Budget

1. The person liable for compensation shall promptly refund any funds to the Child Protection Fund when they have the ability to do so. If the Child Protection Fund has already been settled with the national budget, then the person liable for compensation shall refund the funds to the national budget. This refund may be made during the investigation, prosecution, trial process or from the date of the effective judgment by the court.

2. The Child Protection Fund shall issue a Confirmation of Refund in accordance with Form No. 04 attached hereto to the person liable for compensation.

3. In case the court's judgment includes provisions related to refunding funds to the Child Protection Fund or the national budget, the enforcement agency shall notify the Child Protection Fund or the financial authority responsible for disbursing funds to the Child Protection Fund.

Article 10. National Budget Ensuring Part of the Expenditure of the Child Protection Fund for Minor Victims

1. Settlement of expenditures and advance payments by the Child Protection Fund supporting minor victims:

a) In cases where the Child Protection Fund has advanced funds to medical facilities, if the person compensating is unable or insufficiently able to refund due to being categorized under categories a, b, c in Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree (as confirmed by the People's Committee at the commune level), then report to the higher-level management authority for examination and consolidation of funds to be submitted to the same-level financial authority for allocation from the national budget to pay the Child Protection Fund;

b) In cases where the person compensating falls under category d in Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree, after 24 months from when the Child Protection Fund has completed payment to the medical facility and the person compensating is still on the run or the perpetrator of the criminal act has not been identified, the Child Protection Fund shall prepare a Request for Confirmation according to Form No. 05 attached hereto and send it directly or through postal service or electronic means to the public security agency handling the matter for confirmation. Based on the confirmation from the public security agency handling the matter, the Child Protection Fund shall report to the higher-level management authority for examination and consolidation of funds to be submitted to the same-level financial authority for allocation from the national budget to pay the Child Protection Fund.

2. In cases where the Vietnam Child Protection Fund advances funds to medical facilities not under the jurisdiction of central ministries or agencies as specified in Subparagraph b, Clause 6, Article 7 of this Decree, the Vietnam Child Protection Fund shall submit a request to the local health department where the medical facility is located for consolidation and submission to the finance department to seek allocation from the local budget to pay the Vietnam Child Protection Fund.

3. Settlements are conducted in accordance with laws on national budget and accounting laws.

4. If the Child Protection Fund mobilizes voluntary contributions or lawful donations for medical expenses of minor victims, it shall not settle such contributions into the national budget.

Chapter III IMPLEMENTATION

Article 11. Enforceability

This Decree shall take effect from May 25, 2026. The provisions herein shall apply as of the 2026 fiscal year.

Article 12. Implementation Responsibilities

The Ministers, Heads of agencies at the same level, Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals shall bear the responsibility for implementing this Decree.