This study aimed to understand the process of family reinsertion, considering the new National Adoption Law. Interviews with psychologists and social workers, who worked in youth shelters in a city of the interior of RS, were carried out. Data was analyzed through content analysis. Results evidenced that professionals try to exhaust the possibilities of reintegration in the family of origin. Only afterwards, they search for the extended family, understanding such search as central in the work developed when the child is in the shelter. The professionals highlight difficulties regarding reinsertion, due to problems that desolate families, such as illness, addictions and economic fragilities, problems that are present in the extended families as well. Final considerations reveal reinsertion as a challenge concerning the professional practices of people who work in such institutions, emphasizing the strong bonds between them and the families, indicating a scenery of change as regards children's institutionalization.
Family; institutionalization; adoption