"Aconchego do Lar": desvelando o acolhimento familiar no RN

Abstract

As a formal alternative to defend the rights of children and adolescents, the Foster Care Service (FCS) comes from the need to prevent the referral of children and adolescents to institutions, so it is inserted in a process of reformulation of the protection policy and the guarantee of the rights of children and adolescents. In this context, the target municipality of this research is a pioneer in the implementation of the service in Rio Grande do Norte (RN).Therefore, the insertion of the FCS in the socio assistance network of the municipality is discussed, from the perspective of the actors involved in its operation: technical team, coordinator, families (host and original), foster child, Child Care Council, Promoter of Justice and Judge. Based on semi-structured interviews, an analysis of the conceptions of these actors on the FCS was accomplished, of the role they play, trying to understand how it was the implementation process of the FCS and whether it is considered as an alternative care for the child and adolescent population. From the reading of the collected material, three preponderant axes of analysis were inferred: I - Conceptions about the FCS; II - Role played in the FCS and III - FCS in the local context. The study shows that family shelter is considered to be an interesting alternative for the care of children and adolescents of the municipality, although there are still difficulties regarding the adolescent public. It was emphasized the individualized attention and affectivity in the relationship between the child/adolescent and the foster family environment, which was considered more salutary than the institutional one. However, the insertion of the FCS in the social assistance network has been experienced with reservations by some actors, and there is still a long way to achieve the solidification of this service in the network, as there are still challenges to be overcome, such as, among others, greater dissemination of information on the FCS in the region, and consequent growth in the register of foster families.