Acolhimento institucional e saída por maioridade: um estudo comparativo entre os períodos regidos pelos Códigos de Menores e pelo Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente

Abstract

The transition to adulthood upon reaching the age of majority in an institutional context has proven to be a difficult process for young individuals exiting the welfare system. The general objective is to conduct a comparative exploratory study between the public policies offered to those who reached adulthood in institutional systems during the era of Code of “Minors” law and the current public policies aimed at adolescents about to turn eighteen and/or young adults who have recently reached adulthood in foster care in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The theoretical-methodological approach is framed as an Institutional Analysis inspired by genealogical methods, which traces Brazilian history from colonization in search of clues regarding the emergence of the care system and the phenomenon of reaching the age of majority in these services. The aim is to understand how this institution became central to the conduct of child policy during the period of the Code of “Minors” (1927 – 1990) and how the dismissal due to reaching adulthood became a significant institutional problem. To achieve this, the analysis uses interviews conducted with former residents in the early 1990s, drawing on Oral History and the concept of transcreation, incorporating fictional characters as a methodological resource for presenting and analyzing the material. Next, an overview of legal changes in child policy is outlined, beginning with the Federal Constitution of 1988 and the Statute of the Child and Adolescent “(ECA)” of 1990. The study examines how legislative changes propelled Institutional Reordering and how the social processes underlying the removal of children and adolescents from their families persist—specifically, the criminalization of poverty and the absence or inadequacy of basic social policies. As a result of the research, it is identified, during the period of FUNABEM (1964 – 1990), the institutional destiny traced for former residents are linked to the ideal of military, agricultural or industrial career. However, during the period of the “ECA”, there is a shift from this ideal towards encouraging work related to entrepreneurship. In both analyzed periods, alongside the considered ideal outcome, there coexist precarious social integration in low-skilled and low-paying jobs, illicit activities, incarceration, and preventable and violent deaths. It is concluded that analyses must consider the relations between the outside and the inside of institutions, as it is impossible to discuss the institution without considering its insertion and sustenance within a particular society and historical context. It is the social position designed for the Brazilian Black youth that is prominent when discussing the transition to adulthood for adolescents in care.