Individual assistance plan: challenges to the construction of a life project while serving socio-educational measures

Plano individual de atendimento: desafios para construção do projeto de vida na medida socioeducativa

Abstract

This article seeks to analyze the use of Plano Individual de Atendimento (Individual Assistance Plans) for the construction of the life projects of adolescents serving Medida Socioeducativa (Socio-Educational Measures) in an incarceration facility. Interviews were conducted with ten adolescents between the ages of 15 and 17, who were carrying out an Medida Socioeducativa of male incarceration, and document analysis was performed on their plans. The data were analyzed using thematic content analysis, from the categories “Elaboration of the Individual Assistance Plans”, “What the PIA addressed” and “Objective of the Individual Assistance Plans” in the light of Vygotsky’s cultural-historical psychology. The interviews and plans analyzed did not present sufficient information to identify the construction of the life project. The use of Individual Assistance Plans in socio-educational measures, allowing it to accomplish its planning and socio-educational function, remains challenging.

Keywords
Keywords; Mediation; Socio-educational measures

Resumo

Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar a utilização do Plano Individual de Atendimento em uma unidade de medida socioeducativa de internação para construção do projeto de vida. Foram realizadas entrevistas individuais com dez adolescentes, com idades entre 15 e 17 anos em cumprimento de medida socioeducativa, em uma unidade de internação masculina, e uma pesquisa documental com os planos desses adolescentes. Os dados foram analisados com a Análise Temática de Conteúdo a partir das categorias Elaboração do Plano Individual de Atendimento. O que o Plano Individual de Atendimento abordou e Objetivo do Plano Individual de Atendimento à luz da perspectiva da Psicologia Histórico-Cultural de Vigotski. As entrevistas e planos analisados não apresentaram informações suficientes para identificação da construção do projeto de vida. A utilização do Plano Individual de Atendimento ainda é um desafio na medida socioeducativa, para que esta possa cumprir sua função de planejamento e assumir uma função socioeducativa.

Palavras-chave
Projeto de vida; Mediação; Medidas socioeducativas

This article seeks to analyze the use of Plano Individual de Atendimento (PIA, Individual Assistance Plans) for the construction of the life project of adolescents serving Medida Socioeducativa (MSE, Socio-educational Measures) at an incarceration facility. Law nº 12,594, of January 18, 2012, which established the Sistema Nacional de Atendimento Socioeducativo (Sinase, National System of Socio-Educational Assistance) and regulated the enforcement of socio-educational measures for adolescents charged with committing infractions, stipulated that the compulsory creation of a PIA. In it, PIA is defined as an “instrument for planning, recording and managing the activities to be performed with the adolescent” (Presidência da República, 2012, Art. 52). The Sinase does not establish a fixed model, and thus, each MSE institution has the autonomy to develop the instrument according to their own reality.

In terms of the timeline, the Sinase stipulates that an Individual Assistance Plan must be created within a maximum period of 45 days from the date of the adolescent’s entry into the incarceration program and within 15 days for those serving Assisted Freedom and Community Service measures, and that it must be submitted to the appropriate judicial authority. According to Teixeira (2014), PIA were introduced as part of the socio-educational measure to improve the assistance offered to adolescents. The primary function of a PIA is to serve as a planning tool for socio-educational measures, considering the present and the future, thus preparing the adolescent for the period following the MSE.

One of the fundamental aspects in the creation of an Individual Assistance Plan is the adolescent’s participation in its development and evaluation. The construction of a PIA involves establishing goals related to different aspects of each adolescent’s life, conceived for the period during and after the socio-educational measure, that seeks to ensure the fundamental rights defined in the Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (Child and Adolescent Statute) (Moreira et al., 2015). For each goal, there are targeted actions and timelines, which can be established in the short, mid, and long terms, supervised by a technical team (Teixeira, 2014). With regard to the guarantee of fundamental rights, one essential principle is institutional incompleteness, requiring coordination with the network of services provided by sector-specific social policies.

The goals and actions of a Individual Assistance Plan are related to the pedagogical axes of the Sinase: formal education – information about the adolescent’s education level and their expectations regarding school, challenges and possibilities; professionalization – information about previous work experiences, courses and professions that interest the adolescent; family and community life – familial, affective and supportive relationships that may help the adolescent during the socio-educational measure and that strengthen family bonds; culture, leisure, sports and spirituality – individual and collective activities carried out according to the adolescent’s interests; health – aspects of comprehensive and mental health, with preventive actions and the promotion of good health; and legal – information about the adolescent’s legal situation (Lopes, 2015; Oliveira et al., 2015).

After an PIA is created, the document is submitted to the judiciary, where it will be approved, rejected, or have changes requested. There is thus a specific flow for the construction, execution, monitoring, and evaluation of a PIA within the legislation. Beyond the normative aspect, which often tends to be restricted to the fulfillment of an institutional protocol, the pedagogical function of a PIA must play a central role during the socio-educational measure, as the fulfillment of the socio-educational measure will depend on the creation of the PIA, which should involve the participation of the adolescent and his family, either his parents or guardians; its execution is the responsibility of the technical team, based on the elements offered by the MSE facility and in coordination with other sector-specific social policies, which will be used to formulate the agreements that will guide the MSE and, consequently, its objectives (Teixeira, 2014).

Although an PIA has the function of recording information, it has a broader purpose, representing the possibility of guaranteeing the adolescent’s rights during the socio-educational measure, such that actions to encourage his development are planned and analyzed. A PIA must be created by a multidisciplinary technical team that supports different aspects of the adolescent’s development, with a decisive ability to address demands, to ensure the rights of the adolescent (Lopes, 2015).

The information recorded and agreed upon in an Individual Assistance Plan should serve as a foundation for the assistance provided during the socio-educational measure. The goals in a PIA should be conceived with the adolescents and be achievable; they should not be limited to a list of tasks to be accomplished but, rather, be an action plan that reflects needs and desires, ensuring that the adolescent’s subjective dimension is not lost (Munhoz, 2013). Along these lines, some authors criticize the idea that a PIA is solely a record, arguing that its construction should be a space for listening, reflection, the guarantee of rights, and the construction of a life project (Lopes, 2015; Munhoz, 2013; Pereira, 2017).

As to the pedagogical axes in the execution of socio-educational measures, one aspect that is particularly noteworthy in relation to education is the reintegration of the adolescents into school, as many of them were not attending school prior to the MSE due to either withdrawal or expulsion (Cunha & Dazzani, 2016; Oliveira et al., 2016; Pessoa & Coimbra, 2016). School reintegration is also a way to facilitate inclusion in vocational courses; therefore, professionalization is a central aspect in the execution of MSEs and in the finalization of PIAs (Munhoz, 2013). Linked to these axes, it is through a PIA that referrals are made regarding the issuing of personal documents (Pereira, 2017).

The health axis is fundamental in the execution of socio-educational measures, as determined by Ordinance nº 1,082/2014, which established the Política Nacional de Atenção Integral à Saúde de Adolescentes (National Policy for Comprehensive Healthcare for Adolescent Offenders), which addresses the promotion, prevention, assistance, and recovery of health. This ordinance stipulates that the healthcare of adolescents falls within the scope of the Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS, Unified Health System), based on the principle of their unique developmental condition and their right to health. The care includes mental healthcare and actions to promote good health and reduce the harm caused by the consumption of alcohol and other drugs (Vicentin et al., 2015). This ordinance establishes that the presence of a mental health professional – who may be a psychologist – is mandatory.

According to Cunha and Dazzani (2016), the culture, leisure, sport, and spirituality axis is a right of each adolescent and should represent a social practice with the aim of comprehensive development. Despite that principle, these and other authors (Costa et al., 2019) note that the activities offered at MSE facilities are not diversified and are limited to merely filling the adolescents’ time.

Analyzing the coordination of sector-specific social policies, Silva and Hüning (2013) argue that policies operate in a very fragmented way. They believe that many policies have functioned in the adolescents’ life trajectory as a violating element or a denial of rights. They suggest that coordination should be conducted prior to referral and that the goals should be agreed upon in a consensual manner, i.e., they cannot be set in a prescriptive manner. Regarding health, despite the many complaints of drug abuse by adolescents, referral to the SUS for treatment cannot be mandatory as its compulsory nature becomes another punishment for such adolescents.

In a study on the creation of documents during the socio-educational measure, Munhoz (2013) identified that most of the records were created in a standardized way, prescribing uniform modes of assistance for all adolescents, and had several blank fields or were not updated for long periods of time. The documents centralized information regarding the adolescents’ behavior during MSE (Scisleski et al., 2015) and included referrals for schooling and professionalization.

As for the end of an MSE, PIA deserve particular attention in terms of their evaluation and the possibility of developing goals and actions following the socio-educational measure. At this time, the punitive aspect of the measure should no longer be considered, but rather, the adolescent’s plans for the future and the opportunities offered by the network of institutions should be explored; furthermore, a service to monitor former MSE participants, which could either be a specific service, as determined by the Sinase, or be part of the social assistance network, through monitoring by Social Assistance Reference Centers and Specialized Social Assistance Reference Centers (Teixeira, 2014), should be established.

Through all the phases of a socio-educational measure – from the reception to the imminent end of the measure – the creation of an Individual Assistance Plan requires a case study; this case study must be a continuous process that utilizes a combination of techniques and instruments, such as consultations, home visits, technical visits, etc. The case study is fundamental, as it gathers information and the opinions of professionals who are part of the technical team, identifying the needs raised by the adolescents and their family members to optimize monitoring, select priorities, analyze difficult situations and envision collective strategies to encourage the adolescent’s development.

Given the range of different functions of Individual Assistance Plans within socio-educational measures – from addressing an adolescent’s needs to serving as a foundation for the evaluation that will be submitted to the judiciary –, their execution presents challenges, including the persistence of the technicians’ control and the adolescent’s lack of participation. Their use is thus limited to a submission to the judiciary, which has the power to make decisions about extending or terminating an MSE (Moreira et al., 2015). In this regard, the interdisciplinary evaluation resulting from a PIA has been confined to merely a summary of what was carried out during the MSE rather than an analytical tool for the work developed through the elements provided through social policies, which implement the objectives of the MSE: accountability, social integration, and the guarantee of social rights (Munhoz, 2013).

The analysis in this article, which aims to analyze the use of the PIA for adolescents serving socio-educational measures at an incarceration facility for the construction of the life project, assumes that a PIA is a guiding instrument with the function of planning MSE. Accordingly, if the PIA is grounded in a purposefully emancipatory pedagogical action, it might mediate the adolescents’ construction of a life project, guaranteeing their rights and providing objective conditions for their development. To this end, this study adopts the perspective of Vygotsky’s cultural-historical psychology and his understanding that a subject is a producer of history, and that psychological development is not natural and linear but a part of the symbolic mediation between the subject and reality (Vygotsky, 1995). Based on historical-cultural psychology, this article uses the theoretical categories of mediation and life project to analyze PIA within MSE.

For Vygotsky, a subject’s relationship with the world is not direct, but every activity is mediated by the existence of signs and tools that correspond to psychological and physical instruments created by the human being (Vygotsky, 1995). It is through these instruments that behavior and psychological functions are mediated and expand their possibilities of action in the world. While tools are directed to the external world, signs – primarily through language – allow human beings to distance themselves from reality, allowing them to operate mentally in relation to the world (Cenci & Damiani, 2018). Mediation depends on instruments, as the mere physical presence of the other does not guarantee it. It is through signs that the relationship with culture takes place, while mediation occurs in different ways and with different intensities (Molon, 2009).

Psychological development is mediated by different activities through life. Activity corresponds to mediation in the dialectic relationship between subject and society, which is made more complex by the concrete conditions experienced at a given historical moment. Mediation by signs and performed by activity is responsible for mobilizing the human psyche by facilitating the development of psychic functions (Leal & Mascagna, 2016). In adolescence, the primary activity that is responsible for guiding psychological development is the construction of a life project (Vygotsky, 1995).

A life project is a plan, involving choices and decisions related to interests that correspond to driving forces that propel development. In this process, the establishment of objectives and actions depend on the objective conditions available to and appropriate for the subjects and may be modified as the objectives are achieved or reevaluated (Abrantes & Bulhões, 2016). In that period, the activity to be performed involves the choice of a profession, which can occur through vocational studies or employment, which in turn guide the construction of a life project and enable personal fulfillment and the development of autonomy (Leal & Mascagna, 2016).

Objective life conditions and the dynamics of social relations that are produced in capitalist society – which involve social inequality – place different demands and activities on adolescents. In the case of a life project, those conditions and the membership of adolescents in a social class will modify the dominant activity, which may be vocational studies or inclusion in the labor force (Abrantes & Bulhões, 2016). These conditions can be altered to the extent that other resources are made available to adolescents, as a life project is not an automatic result of development, nor does it occur spontaneously; instead, it depends on the concrete elements made available and associated with a purposeful educational intervention that can mediate the development of a feasible life project, facilitating the achievement of adolescents’ possibilities (García, 2013).

For adolescents, the development of higher mental functions is related to learning processes that dialectically lead to the formation of concepts, enabling the restructuring of thinking and the ability to appropriate new knowledge. It is access to certain elements – mediated by actions or educational institutions – that allows subjects to expand their possibilities for planning; this occurs by using abstract categories that nurture the formation of concepts and the planning of life projects (Vigotskii et al., 2010).

Method

Participants

This study involved the participation of ten adolescents, between the ages of 15 and 17, who were carrying out an MSE of male incarceration in a municipality in the state of Paraíba, Brazil. The choice of participants was based on convenience and the access granted by the institution, ending the interviews after reaching saturation. To respect the confidentiality and anonymity of the study participants, they were given fictitious names.

Instruments

This study used open, individual interviews with adolescents serving MSE at an incarceration facility in the state of Paraíba and document analysis of the PIA of the participants, carried out by the first and third authors. The interviews addressed the adolescents’ knowledge and participation in the construction of their PIA. Notes related to life projects were examined in the document analysis.

>Procedures

At the end of the interviews, the adolescents were asked for permission to access their individual files, which contained their PIA. After receiving their authorization, the researcher asked the technical team for access to the PIA of the ten adolescents interviewed, to collect information regarding the adolescents’ construction of a life project; however, only five documents were found in the individual folders. According to the technical team, PIA had not been created for the other five adolescents, although they had been serving MSE (incarceration) for a period of longer than one year.

After the transcription, the data from the interviews and the document analysis were analyzed qualitatively using thematic content analysis (Minayo, 2014). An initial reading of the information collected from the interviews and documents was performed, followed by an exploration of the material, coding the textual clusters, through which the content was organized into categories, chosen after reading the data. Within the categories, the most representative passages were grouped and organized into thematic classes. Finally, an interpretative synthesis of the data was performed based on the theoretical reference underpinning the study. The thematic content analysis of the interviews and documents was organized into two thematic classes: knowledge and participation in the construction of the PIA and notes regarding a life project in the PIA.

In the first class, the following thematic categories were constructed: creation of the PIA, what the PIA addressed and objective of the PIA. In the second class, the following categories were constructed: timeline for creation of the PIA and agreement; in the latter, the content was organized in the subcategories: education, occupational workshop, professionalization, leisure, health, social assistance, family, psychology, and security.

In this study, all the ethic procedures related to human research were followed in accordance with Resolution nº 466/2012 and Resolution nº 510/2016 of the National Health Council, and the study protocol was submitted for review and approval by the Human Research Ethics Committee Federal University of Paraíba, obtained through the Presentation Certificate for Ethical Appreciation (CAAE) nº 51438715.4.0000.5188. The Free and Informed Consent forms were signed by the directors of the units, responsible for the adolescents.

Results and Discussion

Knowledge and participation in the construction of the Individual Assistance Plan

This class refers to the moment in which an adolescent learns about the existence of the PIA, if it was created by the team present during the creation and the purpose of this document in the MSE. This class includes the following categories: creation of the PIA, what the PIA addressed, and objective of the PIA.

In the category Creation of the PIA, the adolescents reported that when they first arrived at the institution, i.e., at the time of their reception, the technical team explained the existence of this document, used for carrying out the socio-educational measure, and they are then invited to construct it. Most of the time, the PIA was constructed with the participation of the technical team, including social service, psychology, and education professionals, as well as the adolescent and their family. Other adolescents reported that their families were not able to participate in the creation of the PIA because they had difficulties visiting the institution, due to any numbers of obstacles, such as financial issues, family dynamics, or health aspects.

It was [done]. We... I was called and my mother; when I arrived, my mother and brother were already there, plus the assistant, the psychologist and I think there was the educator. Then, she asked me about a few things, and I answered, and that was it

(Rafael, 16 years old).

Clearly, the creation of the PIA performed by the socio-educational measures facility follows the criteria of including the adolescent, and when possible, their family, as well as the different professionals who are part of the technical team. The participation of the adolescents and their families, however, has been restricted only to the initial moment of the agreement; it is not part of monitoring, hindering their active participation (Teixeira, 2014).

The completion of the interdisciplinary evaluation without the creation of a PIA demonstrates that it was performed as a way of controlling the adolescents’ behavior because pedagogical aspects were not considered, the evaluation of which would be the analytical result of the work developed with the participation of the adolescents and their family members, both in relation to the moment of carrying out the socio-educational measures and the period following its termination (Costa, 2015; Moreira et al., 2015; Munhoz, 2013).

The submission of an interdisciplinary evaluation without the creation of an PIA and an agreement about its content reveals that the objective of this instrument – to serve as a foundation for carrying out socio-educational measures as well as the construction of a life project, according to the interests and needs of the adolescents – was not considered; the evaluation was restricted only to the fulfillment of judicial requests (Moreira et al., 2015).

Regarding the category What the PIA addressed, the adolescents found it difficult to remember what had been addressed during its construction, as, according to them, the instrument had only been constructed once and was not reviewed or discussed during the socio-educational measures. The following statement by an adolescent demonstrates this situation: “It’s been a while since I did it. They called me. It was only once. They asked me about a few things. They wrote some things down, the usual. I don’t remember [the questions]; it was too long ago” (Augusto, 17 years old).

The adolescents who remembered the questions reported that their PIA focused on family issues, school, and life changes. The following is one of the statements that represents this category: “I just remember that I answered that I wanted to finish school, rebuild my family, a lot of things [...] good things, work, get my family out of that neighborhood [...] and keep moving forward, go somewhere else, right?!” (Pedro, 15 years old).

These statements demonstrate that although a PIA is created and addresses issues related to the axes of the Sinase, which are important for the construction of a life project, its use has been restricted to merely filling out a form, rather than functioning as a plan that is monitored by the participants (in this case, the adolescents, family members and technicians) evaluating the objectives achieved and the establishment of new goals and timelines according to the adolescents’ needs (Teixeira, 2014).

The category related to the objective of the PIA identified the adolescents’ understanding of the function of a PIA. For them, the document aims to provide an evaluation of their behavior at the MSE facility for the judge: “It goes to the judge [...] Just like an evaluation; who is behaving here, if they did something inside, it all goes to the judge; it all goes in the guy’s file [...]” (André, 17 years old).

From the adolescent’s statement, it is clear that for him, the PIA has not had a planning function during the socio-educational measures, nor has it enabled the construction of a life project; instead, it is a document that only serves to control and monitor behavior at the facility (Munhoz, 2013). Although it is a mandatory instrument, PIAs have been underutilized by the facility, as they were not created for all the adolescents. As well, the document has been filled out in a bureaucratic manner, solely during the initial session, called the agreement, but it has not been reviewed by the participants during their MSE, thus making it impossible to monitor and evaluate them and to establish new objectives and goals based on the adolescents’ interests (Moreira et al., 2015).

Despite being informed about the existence of the document and being asked about aspects related to education, professionalization, family and even the desire to change their lives, the function of a PIA as a pedagogical instrument that will guide and mediate the construction of their life project is not clear to the adolescents (Leal & Mascagna, 2016); rather, it is seen as a kind of report that will be sent to the courts for the ruling on the termination of their socio-educational measures, in which only behavior is analyzed for that decision (Scisleski et al., 2015).

In this sense, the function of an PIA as an action plan, containing goals and objectives for the adolescents’ social integration, the guarantee of their rights, and the construction of a life project is lost. That demonstrates the insufficient monitoring of socio-educational policies because the implementation of that instrument is necessary as a mediating element of development. Its potential for planning a life project is compromised, as its implementation requires a targeted educational intervention (García, 2013) that goes beyond identifying needs, to encourage the mediation of adolescents’ thinking in a dialectic relationship between the concrete and abstract elements that should be part of the planning process (Vigotskii et al., 2010).

Notes on life projects in the Individual Assistance Plan

As for the notes regarding life projects contained in the PIA examined in the document analysis, the data were organized in the category named PIA agreement.

This category refers to the moment when the adolescent and their family members are invited by the technical team to discuss the aspects necessary for the adolescents’ development based on social policies. This takes place after an initial reception period when information about the adolescent’s history is collected. In terms of the agreement, the records are distributed according to the axes of activities, and the data are organized in subcategories: Timeline for the creation of PIA, Education, Occupational workshop, Professionalization, Leisure, Health, Social assistance, Family, Psychology, and Safety.

In the category Timeline for the creation of PIA by the MSE facility, it was observed in the documents analyzed that the PIA were completed between 9 months and 1 year and 5 months from the beginning of MSE. These terms go beyond the legal period determined for their agreement corresponding to 45 days after the adolescent’s admission to the socio-educational measures of incarceration facility (Teixeira, 2014).

In the subcategory Education, the five adolescents who had PIA created were enrolled in and attending school at the incarceration facility. Not all of these adolescents were studying prior to their socio-educational measures, which demonstrates that, at the time of this study, the objective of reintegration into the educational system was achieved (Cunha & Dazzani, 2016; Oliveira et al., 2016). The objectives of the pedagogical axis of education in MSEs refer to the possibility of adolescents completing primary or secondary school as well as serve as a form of inclusion in the labor force; the MSE facility has a school at the institution with those education levels.

Regarding the family’s participation in this axis, the records indicate that the family monitors the adolescent’s educational process; however, there is no indication of how this monitoring takes place at the facility or the school. Regarding goals, there were notes related to the adolescents’ need to receive assistance in the form of school tutoring (Pessoa & Coimbra, 2016), but there was no mention of referrals made by the facility to implement this demand.

In the subcategory Occupational workshop, two adolescents were attending a workshop, and the others were not because they were waiting for openings in the workshops offered by the institution of socio-educational measure. The objective of this axis is to fill the leisure time of the adolescents at the MSE institution, and the goal is to create additional openings for other adolescents. The objectives and goals related to this type of workshop do not have an educational function, which may contribute to the adolescents’ poor attendance or lack of interest in participating in these activities (Costa et al., 2019); furthermore, they are not offered to all the adolescents, due to the limited number of openings at the MSE institution.

In the subcategory Professionalization, two adolescents were attending vocational courses, and one adolescent had completed courses offered at the institution of socio-educational measure in partnership with vocational institutions. The other two adolescents were waiting for courses of interest to be offered at the incarceration facility, but there were no records on whether those courses would be made available or whether they would be referred to institutions outside the MSE institution. In the PIA, there were also records that some of the adolescents wanted to pursue the same profession as one of their family members, but there were no referrals for courses related to those areas of interest. The objective of this axis is to enable the future inclusion of the adolescents in the labor force. In the five PIAs analyzed, there were notes about the adolescents’ interests in this axis, demonstrating the centrality of professionalization in PIA (Munhoz, 2013).

With regard to the subcategory Leisure, none of the PIA analyzed had notes about this axis, in relation to the types of activities offered by the institution of socio-educational measure or its objectives. There were only notes regarding goals, which referred to the adolescents’ commitment to participating in the activities offered by the facility but without describing which leisure activities are available at the institution or mentioning those that would be of interest to the adolescents. According to Cunha and Dazzani (2016), leisure activities should be offered by MSE facilities based on the understanding that it is a right; they should also have a specific intention, which is to contribute to the comprehensive development of the adolescents.

In the subcategory Health, there were records of the use of illicit drugs by the adolescents, but there was no information on objectives and goals related to this axis, nor information on referrals or actions taken at the facility in terms of specialized mental health for the use/abuse of psychoactive substances. Concerning assistance, the lack of records –which may imply an absence of actions or referrals by the facility – goes against what is stipulated in the Sinase for special mental health care, including care related to the use of alcohol and other psychoactive substances. The health axis is defined as one of the mandatory components of PIA; the other components are agreed upon in accordance with the institutional reality and the individual needs of the adolescents. In this sense, information about assistance, objectives and goals are extremely important in PIA, as a right of the adolescent, understanding health as a human right (Vicentin et al., 2015).

In the subcategory Family, the notes dealt with family participation in monitoring the adolescents’ socio-educational process, primarily through their presence on family visit days, but there was no other information about how the family participated nor on potential referrals that could help them to ensure that the action could contribute to the return to the adolescents to the community (Lopes, 2015; Teixeira, 2014).

In the subcategory Social assistance, there were records about referrals made at the institution, related to issuing personal documents for the adolescents because the five adolescents only had a birth certificate. This action was carried out based on agreements between the entity executing the socio-educational measures and the institution responsible for the personal documents that are issued in correctional facilities. The objective of this axis concerns the possibility of referrals to and placement in vocational courses. It is important to note that many of the adolescents are accessing certain rights for the first time, such as being issued documents only when they enter the MSE institution (Pereira, 2017).

In the subcategory Psychology, the content concerned answers to predetermined questions about identifying the feelings and behavioral aspects of the adolescents and the motivation for the infraction, based on which the psychology professionals recorded recommendations about the need for individual, group, or family assistance. The objectives of this axis of the agreement addressed the reinforcement of the adolescents’ self-esteem and assistance with the construction of a life project. Although this objective pointed to a relationship with a life project, the axis also showed records of the assistance provided, solely describing the behavior of the adolescents at the facility; the notes did not present any elements about social aspects and were confined to an individualizing perspective that focused on disciplining behaviors (Scisleski et al., 2015).

The subcategory Safety addressed the identification of risks and threats experienced by the adolescents in the neighborhoods where they lived and included notes suggesting the need to change neighborhoods following the completion of the socio-educational measures. However, there were no records about the objectives and goals for this axis of the agreement or actions that would be undertaken by the MSE institution in coordination with public safety policies, nor were there referrals to programs to protect the lives of the adolescents; there were only notes regarding the commitment made by the adolescents’ families to move out of the neighborhoods where they live after the adolescent leaves the institution. It is thus clear that the families are the only ones responsible for changing this threatening situation; the facility is not responsible for offering protection actions or measures to the adolescents (Silveira et al., 2015).

The PIA analyzed were signed by the adolescents, by members of their families, and by the facility’s technical team, which is composed of a psychologist, a social worker, and an educator. The data indicate that in the five documents analyzed, the adolescent, their family, and the technical team were all present, consistent with article 53 of the law on Sinase, but it was not possible to analyze the effectiveness of their participation based on the records found (Teixeira, 2014).

In the PIA analyzed, several topics in the axes of the agreement had not been completed, such as the goals and objectives, or even any progress made in terms of the referrals proposed in the objectives. The lack of these notes reveals obstacles to the monitoring and evaluation of the actions, as the PIA thus becomes merely a document with a bureaucratic function, completed in a single session; its function as an action plan that establishes goals and deadlines in the short, medium, and long term, making referrals based on the adolescents’ priorities and according to concrete possibilities for achievement, had not been created (Teixeira, 2014).

In addition to this information, many of the responses in the PIA of the five adolescents were repeated multiple times, even though one of the topics in the document is titled “Information declared by the adolescents,” revealing a standardization in the creation of this document and a failure to comply with the individual focus of PIA agreements and ignoring the specific needs of the adolescents and the development of intervention strategies considering those demands (Munhoz, 2013).

The PIA analyzed did not present sufficient information to identify life projects constructed with the adolescents and their families and agreed upon with the MSE institution, in partnership with other sectoral-specific social policies. The data suggest that the use of PIA for adolescents serving socio-educational measures is challenging; however, the planning function allows MSE to take on socio-educational dimensions (Teixeira, 2014).

The information analyzed in the interviews and in the Individual Assistance Plans indicates that PIA have not been used as mediating instruments for life projects during MSE. Although some PIA were created, the PIA content was not sufficient for performing the function of mediation, as the physical presence of a PIA does not guarantee mediation; rather, mediation depends on the quality of the relationship that is established with the instruments (Molon, 2009; Vygotsky, 1995). In the case of PIA, the agreements need to make sense for the adolescents, and the actions need to be coordinated with other elements, such as referrals to sector-specific social policies and monitoring, which can function as other mediators. A life project is not a spontaneous accomplishment but, rather, depends on the existence of objective conditions that are offered that encourage development (García, 2013).

Moreover, regarding the creation of an Individual Assistance Plan, after agreement, the instrument was not reviewed and updated – conditions necessary for planning – which involves evaluating and monitoring the objectives, the choices agreed upon and the actions carried out. Accordingly, the instrument did not act as a guide for the adolescents’ life projects. The absence of notes and, in particular, the lack of activities does not make it possible to guide the development of the adolescents by offering elements that broaden the possibility of the adolescents, given the objective conditions that limit their choices, or provide an opportunity for the construction of a plan, due to the immediate needs for inclusion in precarious labor activities (Abrantes & Bulhões, 2016).

The absence of elements related to the fulfillment of the pedagogical axes linked to the adolescents’ areas of interest and that reflect their rights makes it impossible to achieve a life project, as doing so involves a type of planning in which objectives and actions are continuously reevaluated, a necessary condition for developing new interests, which can serve as driving forces for the adolescents’ development (Abrantes & Bulhões, 2016). It is important to emphasize that the primary guiding activity of development in adolescence, related to professionalization, has not been made available to all the adolescents, even though it is an activity related to their interests, and thus, the possibilities for personal accomplishment and the development of autonomy are limited (Leal & Mascagna, 2016).

Conclusion

One essential aspect for the execution of socio-educational measures based on the Sinase law is the creation of an Individual Assistance Plan, defining objectives, goals and timelines that are agreed upon by the adolescent, their families, and the technical team. Analyzing the adolescents’ PIA, while the instrument adopted at the institution contains questions related to personal and social aspects of the adolescents, it is not used to record referrals or the activities carried out, which are crucial for demonstrating the evolution of the actions and the objective of the socio-educational measure.

The issue becomes more complex when we consider the fact that the Individual Assistance Plans for all the adolescents were not created within the legally stipulated period, revealing the noncompliance of both parties with the Sinase law. The shortcomings of the PIA and the lengthy period for their creation compromise of the socio-educational measure and the adolescents’ construction of a life project. Despite indicating some of their desires and needs, the PIA do not specify the steps to achieve them, nor the actions undertaken by the MSE institution to execute them.

This scenario can be modified by creating Individual Assistance Plans with the adolescents and their families, which would involve constructing a plan for executing the measures and preparing the adolescents for the future following the MSE, as well as increased monitoring by the judiciary in the evaluations related to the PIA. It is important to note that this study was conducted with a limited number of participants, in only one Brazilian state, indicating the need for future research that includes more adolescents serving MSE and an analysis of their respective PIA, considering the national landscape of MSE.

• Article based on the doctoral dissertation of C.S.S. COSTA, entitled “Vivência e projeto de vida de jovens em cumprimento de medidas socioeducativas”. Universidade Federal da Paraíba, 2017.

How to cite this article

• Costa, C. S. S., Alberto, M. F. P., & Silva, E. B. F. L. (2022). Individual assistance plan: challenges to the construction of a life project while serving socio-educational measures. Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas), 39, e200237. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-0275202239e200237

References

• Abrantes, A. A., & Bulhões, L. (2016). Adulthood and psychic development in class society: youth and work. In L. M Martins, A. A. Abrantes, & Facci, M. G. D. (Orgs.), Historical-cultural periodization of psychic development (pp. 241-265). Autores Associados. Portuguese.
• Cenci, A., & Damiani, M. F. (2018). Development of the Historical-Cultural Theory of Activity through three generations: Vygotsky, Leontiev and Engeström. Screenplay, 43(3), 919-948. https://doi.org/10.18593/r.v43i3.16594.
  » https://doi.org/10.18593/r.v43i3.16594
• Costa, C. (2015). Dimensions of the Social-Educational Measure: between the punitive and the pedagogical. Texts & Contexts, 14(1), 62-73. https://doi.org/10.15448/1677-9509.2015.1.16858.
  » https://doi.org/10.15448/1677-9509.2015.1.16858
• Costa, C. S. S., Alberto, M. F. P., & Silva, E. B. F. L. (2019). Experiences in socio-educational measures: possibilities for young people’s project of life. Psychology: Science and Profession, 39, e186311. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-3703003186311
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-3703003186311
• Cunha, E. O., & Dazzani, M. V. M. (2016). The school and the adolescent in conflict with the law: exposing the points of a difficult relationship. Educação em Revista, 32(1), 235-259. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-4698144008.
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-4698144008
• García, L. (2013). Youth, responsibility and social commitment Adoleca.
• Leal, Z. F. R. G., & Mascagna, G. C. (2016). Adolescence: work, education and omnilateral training. In L. M. Martins, A. A. Abrantes, & M. G. D. Facci, (Orgs.), Historical-cultural periodization of psychic development – from birth to old age (pp. 221-237). Autores Associados.
• Lopes, A. A. (2015). The individual care plan (PIA) from the perception of the technical team at the Carlos Santos Temporary Hospitalization Center in the District of Porto Alegre [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Universidade de Brasilia.
• Minayo, M. C. S. (2014). The challenge of knowledge: qualitative research in health (14th ed). Hucitec.
• Molon, S. I. (2009). Methodological research issues in the sociohistorical approach. Informatics in education: Theory & practice, 11(1), 56-68.
• Moreira, J. O., Albuquerque, B. S., Rocha, B. F., Rocha, P. M., & Vasconcelos, M. A. M. (2015). Individual Service Plan (PIA) from the perspective of semi-liberated technicians. Serviço Social e Sociedade, 122, 341-356. https://doi.org/ 10.1590/0101-6628.026.
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-6628.026
• Munhoz, S. R. (2013). Document preparation insofar. Revista de Antropologia da UFSCar, 5(2), 70-81. http://www.rau.ufscar.br/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/vol5no2_06.SaraMunhoz.pdf
  » http://www.rau.ufscar.br/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/vol5no2_06.SaraMunhoz.pdf
• Oliveira, C. B. E., Oliva, O. B., Arraes, J., Galli, C. Y., Amorim, G. G., & Souza, L. A. (2015). Socio-education: origin, meaning and implications for socio-educational care. Psychology in Study, 20(4), 575-585. https://doi.org/10.4025/psicolestud.v20i4.28456.
  » https://doi.org/10.4025/psicolestud.v20i4.28456
• Oliveira, J. V., Voltolini, L., & Costa, M. C. L. (2016). Behind the bars: school education for teenagers freedom of private. Ensino e Pesquisa, 14(1), 106-122.
• Pereira, F. C. S. C. (2017). Analysis of the process of construction of the Individual Care Plan for the implementation of socioeducational measures [Unpublished master’s Dissertation]. Universidade Estadual Paulista.
• Presidência da República (Brasil). (2012). Lei nº 12.594, de 18 de janeiro de 2012. Institui o Sistema Nacional de Atendimento Socioeducativo (Sinase), regulamenta a execução das medidas socioeducativas destinadas a adolescente que pratique ato infracional; e altera as Leis nºs 8.069, de 13 de julho de 1990 (Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente); 7.560, de 19 de dezembro de 1986, 7.998, de 11 de janeiro de 1990, 5.537, de 21 de novembro de 1968, 8.315, de 23 de dezembro de 1991, 8.706, de 14 de setembro de 1993, os Decretos-Leis nºs 4.048, de 22 de janeiro de 1942, 8.621, de 10 de janeiro de 1946, e a Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho (CLT), aprovada pelo Decreto-Lei nº 5.452, de 1º de maio de 1943 Diário Oficial da União.
• Pessoa, A. S. G., & Coimbra, R. M. (2016). The drug dealer does not go to school: processes of educating adolescents with involvement in drug trafficking. Revista Educação em Questão, 54(42), 117-190. https://doi.org/10.21680/1981-1802.2016v54n42ID10958.
  » https://doi.org/10.21680/1981-1802.2016v54n42ID10958
• Scisleski, A. C. C., Gonçalves, H. S., & Cruz, L. R. (2015). Psychological practices in public policies of social assistance, public security and youth. Revista de Ciências Humanas, 49(2), 60-74. https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/revistacfh/article/view/2178-4582.2015v49n2p60
  » https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/revistacfh/article/view/2178-4582.2015v49n2p60
• Silva, A. K., & Hüning, S. M. (2013). The individual care plan as an analyzer of public policies in the socio-educational system. In L. R. Cruz, L. Rodrigues, & N. M. F. Guareschi (Orgs.). Interlocutions between psychology and national social assistance policy (pp. 149-160). EDUNISC.
• Silveira, K. S. S., Machado, J. C., Zappe, J. G., & Dias, A. C. G. (2015). Future projects of adolescents deprived of liberty: implications for the socioeducational process. Revista Psicologia: Teoria e Prática, 17(2), 52-63. http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-36872015000200004&lng=pt&tlng=pt.
  » http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-36872015000200004&lng=pt&tlng=pt
• Teixeira, M. L. T. (2014). Individual Care Plan (PIA) - The present and future of adolescents in compliance with a socioeducational measure. In I. L. Paiva, C. Souza, & D. B. Rodrigues (Orgs.), Juvenile justice: theory and practice in the socioeducational system (pp.101-123). EDUFRN.
• Vicentin, M. C. G., Assis, D. A. D., & Joia, J. H. (2015). The rights of children and adolescents to mental health care: tensions between protection and guardianship in the case of drug use. Diké, 4(1), 21-50. https://seer.ufs.br/index.php/dike/article/view/3749
  » https://seer.ufs.br/index.php/dike/article/view/3749
• Vigotskii, L. S., Luria, A. R., & Leontiev, A. N. (2010). Language, development and learning (11th ed.). Ícone.
• Vygotsky, L. S. (1995). Selected works – volume III: problems of the development of the psyche Visor.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  10 June 2022
• Date of issue
  2022

History

• Received
  19 Dec 2020
• Reviewed
  19 Apr 2021
• Accepted
  25 Aug 2021