COUV ACTES - Psychologie communautaire

Community Psychology: Common Values, Diverse PracticesChildren on the Streets: Family’s Perceptions about a SocialProgram’s interventionby Lirene Finkler 1 , Débora Dalbosco Dell’Aglio 1 & Ana Paula Noronha Zucatti 1Interventions to cope with children living and working on the streets (children in street situation) were firstcentered on the children and the adolescents, but now start to focus on the families. The Ação Rua Program is apublic social project implemented in 2007 in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, which is responsible for approaching andmonitoring children and adolescents that live and work on the streets, as well as their families (PMPA, 2006). Thisstudy is part of a broader research that aims to evaluate program implementation and interventions. The globalobjectives are to investigate the awareness of the group involved and assisted by the program (managers, socialworkers, families and children and adolescents) concerning the impact of the interventions made by ‘Ação Rua’,as well as to evaluate the implementation of the service (different stages, teamwork composition, communityinsertion and the integration between teamworks and community).Social program and project evaluation research point out the relevance of individual’s participation, in theevaluation process (Uchimura & Bosi, 2002). This study evaluated family’s perception concerning the impact ofthe interventions made by Ação Rua program, in order to identify fundamental elements in the family’s and thecommunity’s rebounding.MethodParticipants: 11 families took part in this study who had experienced street situation and were accompanied byAção Rua. These families were also being followed in the social assistance municipal system and receivingfinancial or social support. Families were represented mainly by mothers and grandmothers, but some childrenalso took part in the project.Instruments and procedures: Focus Groups were used in order to discuss how these families experience thestreet situation of their children and how they interpret the intervention of Ação Rua. Sessions have beenvideotaped and transcribed for analysis purposes.All ethic procedures to research with human being were taken. Families signed an informed consent paper. TheProject was evaluated by the Ethic Committee at UFRGS. A Term of Agreement was signed by participantinstitutions and families signed an Informed Consent. Results will be presented to participant institutions, localand Municipal Rights Councils (Social Assistance Council, Child and Adolescents Council, Tutelar Council). Aspecific meeting will return data to participant families.1Psychology Institute - Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) - Brazil176