A família nas políticas sociais: o caso do Programa Bolsa Família

Abstract

In Western countries, the last years have been marked for a increasing rediscovery of the value of family and of the micro solidarities. Proof of this is the emergence of the family both in discussions of social policies, as in the formulation of the same. In recent Brazilian context, gained prominence the creation and expansion of the Bolsa Familia, a program of direct income transfer with conditionalities that, in 2012, had among its beneficiaries more than 13 million families and establishing as one of its objectives the families´s emancipation. Given the scope of this program and the discovery, in earlier surveys, of the importance of family relationships to the social integration of individuals, the present study examined how family relationships and community are considered in this proposal and in academic research program that evaluate it. We search to understand the reasons that led to the emergence of family social policies in general, and specifically on income transfer programs, and analyze how the prioritization of the family can contribute to the improvement and increased effectiveness of social policies. For this was made a review of the specialized literature about the relation between family and social policies, and from it were built three categories of analysis: social integration, social family capital and welfare mix. Then we analyzed the primary data (Law n. 10.836, of 9 January of 2004, establishing the Bolsa Família Program and Decree n. 5209, of 17 September of 2004, that regulates it) and secondary (published evaluations in the form of scientific articles and books, between 2007 and 2011, showing the impacts, limits and possibilities of the program). It was found that the appearance of the family in social policies is associated with the recognition that the vital exercise of family is similar to the functions of social policies. Thus, the prioritization of families in social policies would be a way to find more effective alternatives with regard to overcoming situations of vulnerability. This is due to the understanding that families continue to be of great relevance to society, as they favor sociability, solidarity and social protection. Finally, it was discovered that the Bolsa Família Program recognizes the importance of family, especially as a socializing agent, as a provider of social care and as a social damper. But family relationships are not considered in their potential to generate social capital. So the family is used by the program, but not regenerated and promoted on their ability to contribute to the good of the person and social coexistence, which prevents the the achievement of the goal of empowering families.