| Hello, *|NOME|* In two previous edition, this “IMDS Letter” discussed the need to incorporate a perspective on social mobility in Brazilian social policy and the importance of a social assistance policy focusing its actions in order to fulfill its functions well; aiming at the emancipation of socially vulnerable families. These discussions are in line with study recently published in the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which describes the results of a program, along the lines of "facilitator" of access and planning of goals, on employability and stability in the housing of economically fragile families. This program, upon having the first contact with the family, performed a family anamnesis in terms of work, housing, in addition to evaluating individual strengths, weaknesses and obstacles faced by the individual. Based on that, steps were taken to set goals and prioritize ways of achieving them. In this manner, success was observed in achieving the goals associated with their greatest challenges. Thinking about this subject, which further enforces studies (here and here) that we have already published suggesting social mobility of the dependents of the first generations of the Bolsa Família Program (PBF), we opened a new axis of action to advance the agenda of a social policy that creates conditions for a sustained emancipation of families in situation of poverty, focusing on the equipment and services of social assistance. The objective, on the one hand, is to better understand the design, demand, supply and costs of the Basic Social Protection (PSB) of the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS). These PSB services are offered by the Social Assistance Reference Centers (CRAS), which are the gateway for families to "prevent situations of vulnerability and social risk through the development of potentialities and acquisitions and the strengthening of family and community ties", according to the Organic Law of Social Assistance (Law No. 8,742/1993). On the other hand, we will seek to suggest improvements on the monitoring and evaluation of the quality of the policy; identify success stories – that is, those that best achieve the goal of bringing long-term well-being and emancipation to families; and to think about potential improvements on what effective care for socially vulnerable families should look like and what an ideal policy design would look like. To inaugurate the discussions on the topic, we invite our readers to the conversation circle "Social Assistance: Building Paths to End the Poverty Trap", which will take place on May 30, Tuesday, from 3pm to 5:20pm, on our YouTube channel. The webinar is part of the gLOCAL Evaluation Week, an action of the Global Assessment Initiative (GEI), represented in Brazil by FGV EESP Clear, which has been taking place since 2019 and in which we have previously participated. This year, we invited experts and activists to discuss the construction of this anti-poverty policy in the long term. Participating in the circle will be the CEO and project coordinator of IMDS, Paulo Tafner and Giovanna Ribeiro, the CEO and co-founder of Oppen Social, Andrezza Rosalém, the professors of Insper, Ricardo Paes de Barros and Laura Machado, the International Consultant of the Synergos Institute, Wanda Engel, and the Founder and CEO of Gerando Falcões, Edu Lyra. In the panel, we will discuss the results of the IMDS studies on the First Generations of the BFP, we will talk about the current functioning and how the CRAS should work, we will address the issue of the operationalization of intersectionality and the role of the different instances of government in this challenge, and we will bring the knowledge that we can incorporate from initiatives of the 3rd sector, like the Favela 3D project.
We await the presence of our readers at the event and invite them to follow the evolution of this and other works and studies of IMDS. See you in the next “Letter from IMDS”! Paulo Tafner CEO |
