Social Assistance Reference Centers in Brazil: notes on their spatial distribution and workforce

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12957/rep.2025.91750

Keywords:

Social Assistance, SUAS, CRAS, Social Work

Abstract

This work aims to examine the spatial distribution and characteristics of the workforce in Social Assistance Reference Centers in Brazil. To do this, we used the quantitative database of the 2021 SUAS Census, triangulating with methodological procedures of bibliographical, documentary and engineering research and data analysis. In recent years, social assistance has become a relevant public policy on the government agenda. CRAS gained prominence due to their capillarity across the national territory and their status as a “gateway” to the services, programs, projects and benefits offered by SUAS. However, the SUAS constitution process has faced limits and contradictions, posed by structural elements relating to dependent capitalist accumulation, the historical trajectory of social policy and the country's social, political and economic situation.

Author Biographies

Adriana de Andrade Mesquita, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto

Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brasil. E-mail: adriana.mesquita@ufop.edu.br. Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6747-3935.

Cristiano Luís Turbino de França e Silva, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto

Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.  E-mail: cristiano.silva@ufop.edu.br. Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3569-8061.

Rita de Cássia Santos Freitas, Universidade Federal Fluminense

Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. E-mail: ritacsfreitas13@gmail.com. Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8251-9997.

Mônica de Castro Maia Senna, Universidade Federal Fluminense

Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Pesquisadora CNPQ. E-mail: monica_senna@id.uff.br. Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2161-7133.

Published

2025-05-30

How to Cite

Mesquita, A. de A., Silva, C. L. T. de F. e, Freitas, R. de C. S., & Senna, M. de C. M. (2025). Social Assistance Reference Centers in Brazil: notes on their spatial distribution and workforce. Revista Em Pauta: Teoria Social E Realidade contemporânea, 23(59). https://doi.org/10.12957/rep.2025.91750