Bolsa Família: scrapping hampers revision of CadÚnico – 08/12/2023 – Market

The lack of knowledge in municipalities about the rules of the Bolsa Família program and the lack of investments in the assistance network in recent years challenge the current government in the task of revising and updating the Single Registry of social programs.

The measure is considered crucial to make the benefits reach those who really need it, but it has run into misinformation, the lack of training of agents who work at the end and the dismantling of service centers.

“We are living a moment like never before. It is not possible to say ‘this here has already been seen back there, so let’s repeat the process'”, he tells the Sheet Eliane Aquino, National Secretary of Citizenship Income. The body is responsible for managing Bolsa Família within the MDS (Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger).

Senarc, as the secretariat commanded by it is called, works together with another area, Sagicad (Secretariat for Evaluation, Information Management and Single Registry), to promote changes in CadÚnico, an instrument that is the basis of more than 30 social policies in Brazil —among them, Bolsa Família. But the process has advanced at slower paces than imagined.

Still in the transition, the technical team diagnosed a situation of “calamity”, in which the most evident of the problems was the explosion of registers of sole proprietorships (those with a single member).

The number of these families went from 1.8 million in December 2018 to 5.5 million in October 2022 — an increase of 197%. In the same period, the number of other families in the Single Registry rose by 21%.

The government is still poring over the data to understand the phenomenon, which may have roots in the rules of the Auxílio Brasil, launched by the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government in an attempt to bury the name of Bolsa Família and whose minimum value of R$ 600 per family possibly encouraged the multiplication of registrations.

Another part of the explanation, however, may come from the behavioral change of Brazilians, given signs of a real increase in the number of people living alone in the country.

The government’s challenge is to accurately identify who is in fact sole proprietorship and who is circumventing the registration, correct the problems and include those who need it and are still out of reach of the programs.

All this in a context of restructuring the Suas network (Single Social Assistance System), which was scrapped. Transfers fell from BRL 2.4 billion in 2019 to BRL 905.7 million in 2022. In the Northeast, three municipalities shared a single social worker.

Secretary Eliane Aquino admits that the work progressed less than expected. “We thought it was going to decrease, but it’s still a high number. It didn’t decrease as much as we expected”, she says.

In July, there were almost 1 million families qualified to receive the Bolsa Família, but still outside the program due to lack of available budget – what is usually called a waiting list. Of these, around 430,000 families were single-person, equivalent to 34%. This is a similar number to the number of households headed by women with children, which does not correspond to the reality perceived in the country’s statistics. The ministry sees this as an indication of persistent problems.

“The IBGE [órgão responsável pelo Censo Demográfico] it is already saying that the percentage of sole proprietorships in the country will be between 16% and 18%, at the most. They should release it now, in the second half. Within our database, the number is higher”, says the secretary. The proportion of single-person families is 23% in the Bolsa Família public and reaches 35% in the scope of CadÚnico.

“What is the big danger? If we don’t take precautions now, in a little while the program will stop being Bolsa Família and become a ‘Bolsa Pessoa’.”

The government sees, first and foremost, a misinformation problem. “At the end, people barely know the rules of the program. If you ask: what are the eligibility criteria of the program? Who is really entitled? Why does it leave? Why does it enter the protection rule? People don’t know ’ says Aquino.

There is also a misunderstanding regarding the concept of family for CadÚnico, which is different from the civil registry. In the register of social programs, the family is the one who shares the same roof, the same income and the same expenses — it doesn’t matter if they are close, distant or emotional relatives.

The second problem is linked to the first, as lack of knowledge is shared by most of the more than 35,000 employees who operate the Single Registry in the municipalities on a daily basis and who should ensure the quality of information. “We spent at least two years without providing any training”, says technician Walter Shigueru Emura, director of the CadÚnico Secretariat.

Upon taking over, the current management was faced with a “very raw” team at the top. MDS has resumed training actions, but it takes time to replace the loss of accumulated knowledge.

The government has also adopted stricter procedures for single-person households. Before, the citizen’s declaration and the presentation of documents to the public agent at Cras (Social Assistance Reference Center) was enough. Now, the protocol requires the signature of a term of responsibility and the attachment of scanned documents. City halls must also visit the residence to see if that person actually lives alone.

“We think about it, build it, raise money, but it doesn’t work. It’s the municipality who checks on that family’s life. We need to draw their attention to the fact that getting the families the right information is essential,” says Aquino.

Based on the various CadÚnico qualification actions, the MDS has already canceled, since March, 2.37 million undue benefits in Bolsa Família, for various reasons: income above the limit, outdated registration, death, among others. In addition, 1.6 million were excluded from the register for not meeting the requirements.

Cross-referencing data with the Cnis (Single Registry of Social Information), started in June, helped with exclusions and even made it possible to detect 2.18 million families with family income per person between R$ 218 and R$ 660 (half a minimum wage) . They entered the Bolsa Família protection rule, which guarantees half of the benefit for up to two years. Another 300,000 even exceeded the R$660 limit and were excluded.

The MDS hopes that the release of the 2022 Census will help clarify the scenario of poverty and extreme poverty in the country, which until then had outdated data from 2010. Although the Census statistics do not serve as a brake on the number of benefits in each municipality, it will be an important reference for the government to outline its strategy.

“Perhaps there are municipalities with single person workers far above or below the average, so we will be able to focus our analysis a little better”, says Emura.

According to him, it is possible to use the Census data to induce action by city halls, with targets for cadastral updating. If the number of beneficiaries is less than the poverty rate indicated in the statistics, you may need to do an active search. If it is bigger, it is possible to demand revisions.

“It’s a policy discussion. It has several possibilities of use. For example, for the purpose of transferring resources”, says the director.

Secretary Eliane Aquino defends the cadastral review process so that the benefit reaches the families that really need it. “The sole proprietorship that is on a family basis and even so receives the benefit is taking it from another family”, she says.

“Few programs have the strength that Bolsa Família has. But it needs to get back on track. It is still not possible to say that it is ready. It is under reconstruction”, he says.

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SEE THE SINGLE REGISTRATION RULES

What is Single Registration?

It is a database that keeps track of who they are, where they live, how they live and what low-income families in Brazil need. They need to register to access social programs such as Bolsa Família, BPC (Continued Provision Benefit) and the social energy tariff, among others. There are more than 30 federal policies that use CadÚnico as a reference, not to mention state and municipal programs.

Who can register with CadÚnico?

Families that live with a monthly income of up to half a minimum wage per person (currently equivalent to R$ 660). Above this value, it is only possible to register for specific programs or services.

What is CadÚnico’s family concept?

People who live in the same house and share the same income or expense, regardless of the degree of kinship.

How to register?

The family responsible, over 16 years old and preferably female, provides information through an interview, at the assistance center or during a visit by the municipal agent. He needs to present documents of all family members, especially the CPF.

Is there a specific protocol for single-person households?

Yes. Municipalities must charge the signature of a term of responsibility and attach scanned versions of the beneficiary’s documents to the CadÚnico system. In addition, home visits are carried out to verify whether the person actually lives alone.

What is the cadastral update?

Families must update their data within a maximum period of 24 months from the last interview, or before that when there is a change in family composition, address or family income.

SEE THE RULES OF THE NEW BOLSA FAMÍLIA

Who has the right?

Families with family income per person of up to R$ 218 registered in the Single Registry. The household income per person is the sum of all household income divided by the number of members.

How is the benefit calculated?

There is one base benefit per person. Each member of the family receives R$ 142 per month. There is also a guarantee of a minimum payment of BRL 600 per family, that is, if the sum of benefits is not enough, the government will transfer a supplementary amount to ensure this floor.

The program also provides for an additional R$ 150 per child aged 0 to 6 years, and another R$ 50 for children and adolescents between 7 and 18 years of age, as well as for pregnant and lactating women.

Is the concession automatic for those who register?

No. The government carries out an authorization protocol, which consists of processing the information, verifying the requirements and identifying priority audiences (indigenous peoples and quilombolas, for example). If the family fits the program rules, it is enabled. Granting the benefit depends on space in the budget.

I got a formal job, will I lose the Bolsa Família benefit?

Not necessarily. If, when incorporating the salary of the new job, the family income per person is between R$ 218 and R$ 660, the beneficiary will enter the protection rule, receiving half of the benefit for up to two years.

If the family income per person exceeds R$ 660, the beneficiary can request to withdraw from the Bolsa, with the right to the so-called “guaranteed return” in case he loses his job or other source of income. The guaranteed return is only valid for those who have voluntarily left the program.