Demand as a determinant factor in the execution of social assistance services in Brazilian municipalities

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the general configuration of the delivery of basic social assistance services in Brazilian municipalities. It is located in the debate on the implementation of social policies in the municipalities, but focusing on major trends in service delivery at the local level. The focus is on the criterion of service delivery at the national level, but taking into account that this criterion is not given by the central Executive, but by local and discretionary actions. In the absence of knowledge about these major trends, the work adopts a grounded theory design and quantitative analysis to test the exploratory hypothesis that the execution of social assistance services in the municipal public network is also due to the expression of demand from the recipient or potential beneficiary. The main results suggest that, given the size of demand, there is a discretionary action that shapes the type of service that is offered, since regions with high demand prioritize collective services while in places with lower potential demand there is a greater presence of individual care.

social assistance services; implementation; social assistance; Suas (Sistema Único de Assistência Social; grounded theory