Bolsa Família is the largest direct income transfer program in the world. The program is part of the Brazil Without Poverty Plan and benefits families in poverty and extreme poverty throughout the country.
Bolsa Familia is focussed on Brazilian families with an income of less than R$ 77 monthly and is based on guaranteeing income, productive inclusion and access to public services.
Every month, the federal government deposits a sum for families that are part of the program. The family uses a magnetic card preferably issued to the women heads of households. The amount depends on family size, the age of its members and their income. There are specific benefits to families with children, young people up to 17 years, pregnant women and nursing mothers. The average benefit paid per family is R $ 167.
Yes. They assume the commitment to vaccinations and nutritional counseling for children 7 years old. Pregnant women need to get prenatal care. Children ages 6 to 17 years must attend school. Currently, 15.4 million children and adolescents have their school attendance monitored by the program. It is up to municipalities to ensure that children and young people are in school and monitor their attendance, and ensure the healthcare for children and pregnant women.
health?
Yes. Studies have shown that the program was responsible for a reduction of 58% in infant mortality from malnutrition. The dropout rates of student beneficiaries in primary and secondary education are lower than the national average. The rate of passing of these students in high school is above the national average.
receiving the benefit?
The point of entry to the program is the single registry for all social programs from the federal government. The registration contains information about each low-income family, identifying its members and their economic and social conditions. The address, housing conditions, the school situation and work of each family member signing up is to help the federal, state and municipal governments better understand the poorest families and organize the provision of public services for this population. At least every two years, the Bolsa Família beneficiaries have to update their details to continue receiving resources.
seek employment?
This idea is more associated with prejudice than on the real data. Studies show that 75% of beneficiaries are in the labor market (albeit in precarious form). But the desire to progress and improve their lives is very strong. Nearly 1.3 million low-income Brazilians have joined Pronatec’s Brazil Without Poverty, professional training programs. No less than 9.2% of the 4.4 million individual country micro-entrepreneurs are beneficiaries of the program. Another important fact: in ten years, 1.69 million families gave up the Bolsa Família after its per capita income had improved. Proof of honesty and the effort to make progress in the lives of humble Brazilian. Against prejudice, the facts.
An IPEA study shows that for every $ 1.00 invested in the Bolsa Família there is a return of R $ 1.78 to the economy. This means that the program has had a key role in boosting consumption and therefore local commerce especially in small and medium sized cities in the country. Along with an increase in the minimum wage, the supply of credit and the extension of pensions, the Bolsa Família has pushed a virtuous circle of jobs and income in these cities. More consumption means generating more production, creating more jobs, and generating more income and better quality of life… a social revolution.
The challenge is to end extreme poverty in Brazil. Ensure that no family has monthly income below R $ 77 . The strategy is the active and constant search. Many families living in the poorer areas of large cities, in the far corners of Brazil or in other areas where access to public programs and services is difficult do not yet benefit from the program. The idea of active search through mobile teams is that the government does not expect that these families, who go through a series of hardships, have to find their own way to the state's offices. It is the government’s responsibility to go where there is extreme poverty, to take with them public services and opportunities for the poorest people of the country - from entry into the single register program. More than 1.2 million families have already been included in the program since 2011 through an active search.