As Paraguay strives to improve social conditions for its most vulnerable population, an innovative approach was identified to strengthen and expand its social protection services with the help of UNICEF and the Government of Brazil. In 2016, two public servants from the Government of the Federal District in Brazil travelled to Paraguay mid-June to conduct a week-long training session with Paraguayan public officials. This support initially focused on the Brazilian Reference Centres for Social Assistance (CRAS). Initial policy and operational recommendations from the Brazilian Government were shared to help guide future actions and decisions of the Paraguayan Government.
Paraguay’s conditional cash transfer programme, Tekoporã, is an entry point for vulnerable families to improve their living conditions in a sustainable manner. In order to reach the most excluded families that live in rural and isolated areas of the country, the Paraguayan Government, led by the Secretariat for Social Action (SAS), has implemented Citizens’ Support Centres (CAC) throughout the country. These Centres aim to provide immediate information to the population regarding social matters, which work to draw more isolated communities into participating and exercising their right to inclusive citizenship. In addition, these are safe spaces for children and parents, where they can inquire about their current situations and how these can be improved.
The cooperation with Brazil and UNICEF was focused on the CAC and the regional office of the SAS, to strengthen and develop their processes and operations to provide improved services to citizens. The two Brazilian public servants who travelled on this Trilateral South-South Cooperation mission were Solange Martins and Nathália de Freitas, both from the Sub-secretariat for Social Assistance, of the Secretariat for Social Development of the Government of the Federal District. The week-long mission mainly took place in the capital, Asunción, with a day trip to Coronel Oviedo.
Among the activities undertaken during the week’s visit were a participatory workshop focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of the CAC and a revision of the Regional Office’s operations; the preparation of a preliminary diagnostic and proposal for the CAC; and the elaboration of a Triangular South-South Cooperation Project between both countries. During the field visit to Coronel Oviedo, the technical mission visited a regional SAS office and saw families that participate in the local SAS social programmes. The Brazilian experience was presented and discussed in detail, as it presents an effective model of a social assistance centre and entry-point to social programmes for vulnerable populations.
Two main products were created in the aftermath of the mission, including a catalog of potential aspects that can be incorporated to the CAC, and a diagram to illustrate how the CAC could work in a more integrated and intersectorial manner. The success of the mission was commended during a closing meeting with the Brazilian participants, the Paraguayan Minister of Social Development, the Head of the SAS and the Representative of UNICEF Paraguay.
Project Evaluation
Exchanges with Brazil immediately contributed to the enhancement of the design and the implementation of a decentralized social service delivery with a sensitive approach towards vulnerable children. Following recommendations made by Brazilian technicians improvements have been made to the newly created Centres of Citizen Care (CAC - Centros de Atención Ciudadana). These improvements included the hiring of psychologists and social workers and training of professionals to adjust the family care according to new service protocols, the creation of spaces for children’s recreation, the provision of meals, the support to women in situations of domestic violence, the creation of Mobile Citizens Care, and the mobile service care for families in the territory covered by the CAC's staff. With the transition to a new government in 2019 a new initiative was designed. The Regional Social Support Centres (CLAS - Centros Locales de Atención Social) are part of the national social protection strategy. This new model encompasses a wider range of services and a more inter-sectorial perspective than the original CACs. The new concept is seen as clearly and strongly influenced by the Trilateral South-South Cooperation with Brazil and it is perceived as a more similar version of the Brazil’s Reference Centre for Social Assistance (CRAS - Centro de Referência de Assistência Social).
