Criminalization of poor childhood from an analysis of family neglect in municipalities of Baixada Fluminense
Child Service family; negligence; poverty; criminalization
This study analyzed the conception of psychologists, social workers and counselors working in Child Services in cities of Baixada Fluminense, about the phenomenon of familiar negligence. The study explored the history and conceptions of the notion of family; the conceptual complexities of the negligence phenomenon; the social, economic and political aspects of poverty; and the integral protection policy of children and adolescents. Assuming a high rate of complaints about family neglect, the study objective was that there would be a conception of family neglect associated with criminalization factors of poor families denounced by this phenomenon. To test the hypothesis, individual and face-to-face interviews were conducted, with seven open questions, with professionals located in Child Services of municipalities of Baixada Fluminense. The material extracted from the interviews was tabulated and analyzed using the Content Analysis method. Fifteen professionals from the tutelary councils of three different municipalities of the Baixada Fluminense participated in the research. From the results, it was possible to find a difficulty in defining negligence; direct responsibility to families; passive blaming of the state; disciplinary function of the Child Services and the pointing out that poor families were the main targets of complaints received. These factors collaborated to prove the initial hypothesis of the study. The study ended by making considerations about the limits of the method used; the importance of state co-responsibility and the possibility of Psychology's collaboration in inclusive public policies.