A vigilância socioassistencial nos municípios maranhenses de IDH muito baixo: desafios e perspectivas de implementação

Abstract

This study presents a proposal for implementing social assistance surveillance in small municipalities (Type I), in accordance with the competencies of state and municipal levels, with the participation of social assistance policy users, technical teams, managers, and social assistance council members from the studied municipalities. It identifies the role of surveillance in guaranteeing social protection for families and creating references for planning and developing services aligned with the needs and demands of the population; it identifies determining factors for the non-operationalization of social assistance surveillance in Maranhão municipalities with Very Low HDI (Human Development Index); as well as the lack of awareness of its importance on the part of their managers and implementers.

Based on the subjects' statements, elements stand out for understanding the non- implementation of social assistance surveillance as a reference in building the

guarantee of and access to rights. The study concludes that social assistance surveillance in the researched municipalities is in an embryonic stage of actual implementation. Although formally established in two municipalities, its operation is informal, leading us to infer that, as a function of social assistance policy, it does not present the necessary conditions to fulfill its role of guaranteeing social protection to families and creating references for planning and developing offers aligned with the needs and demands of the population. The lack of awareness of the importance of surveillance in the operationalization of social assistance policy; of its necessity in identifying situations of vulnerability and social risks to which individuals and families are exposed, constitute elements that hinder its effective implementation. There is a need for managers, implementers, social control agents, and users to understand and incorporate the meaning of socio-assistance surveillance.