Social Assistance in Brazil: Management of SUAS

Author: Bruna Goussain e Giovanna Lima

Edition: 1st

Published in: April 2026

This second report is part of the series of three studies on Social Assistance in Brazil, organized by IMDS with the objective of offering a structured view of this public policy. After the first report, dedicated to the organization of Basic Social Protection provisions, this volume focuses on the management of actions and work within the scope of the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS). The focus falls on the mechanisms that allow the policy to transform guidelines and regulations into concrete actions in the territory — that is, on the way in which management organizes, coordinates, and sustains the daily functioning of the social assistance network.
The report is organized in two parts. The first addresses the elements that make up the management of actions, including the instances of coordination, deliberation and agreement, management instruments, and social assistance monitoring. The second part describes work management components, focusing on the constitution of reference teams and strategies for continuing education in the field of social assistance, especially through the continuing education policy.

Like the other reports in the series, this study is anchored in federal norms and instruments that guide the implementation of the policy throughout the national territory, acknowledging, however, that States and Municipalities may adopt complementary regulations. The report also dialogues with the Social Assistance Diagram, produced by IMDS, deepening the management axis and offering integrated reading between organizational, operational and institutional aspects of the policy.

Happy reading! And also check out the first and third reports in the series of studies on Social Assistance in Brazil.