BEIJING, Jan. 26 -- The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) on Monday named 42 prominent social workers to encourage more people to take up the profession.

The professionals work with mental health patients, individuals, families, groups and communities, said MCA social work division head Wang Jinhua.

There are 159,000 registered social workers and assistant social workers in China, and more than 400,000 people are engaged in social work.

In 2014, 2.35 billion yuan (382.8 million U.S. dollars) was invested in social work, up 40.7 percent year on year.

There are more than 30,000 registered social organizations as of 2014, said MCA spokesperson Chen Rifa, adding that of that number about 5,000 committed violations in 2014.

The MCA will deepen administrative reform in the sector, Chen added.