Terapia ocupacional e medidas socioeducativas em meio aberto: percepções e práticas

Abstract

The socio educational correctional services in open prison regimes are regulated by the National System of Socio Educational Support and by the Child and Adolescent Statute, and they aim for the social recovery of adolescents from 12 to 18 years old that have committed an infraction. In order to fulfill these services, it has to be taken into account the technicians, important actors in the way the work will be executed. This study aims on mapping the services of socio educational correctional measures in open prison regimes of the State of São Paulo in municipalities with populations of 100 thousand habitants and above, intending on distinguishing such services and its technical teams, as well as to calculate the amount of occupational therapists involved in them. Having past calculating the total number of these professionals, it has prioritized getting to know the practices and perceptions in regard of the role played by occupational therapists in socio educational correctional measures. In order to support the mapping, there have been used the data made available by the Coordination of Social Action of the State of São Paulo and the Regional Directorates of Social Support and Development. After possessing the reports of the 75 municipalities researched in the State of São Paulo with 100 thousand habitants or more, the coordinators of the services have been asked to answer a questionnaire to illustrate its environments and technical teams. Thus, through mapping, it has been possible to count eight active occupational therapists in the socio educational correction measures. These professionals have been individually interviewed in a single meeting, which, therefore, made possible to document their perceptions and practices in regard of the role played by occupational therapy in this field. It has been verified that, in the majority of the municipalities, these services have been done by the Centers of Specialized Reference on Social Support, which generate discussions about how is the best way of doing them. In regard of the technical actors, there is a predominance of psychologists and social workers within the teams, which goes against the ideal of multiprofessional teams intended by the field s legislations. In addition to that, these professionals have presented educational backgrounds directed to clinical areas. In consideration of that, the study points to the necessity of a perspective that is also directed to a broader dimension of the problems lived by these teenagers that are in conflict with the law, and are mostly originated by social reasons. The occupational therapists inserted in the referred socio educational corrective measures in open prison regimes experience situations that are similar to the ones lived by the other technical workers in general, including the contradiction in regard of the role played by them. In spite of not existing any particularity that is exclusive to this profession in these services, there have been verified that it brings very significant contributions, particularly in relation with its capacity of working amongst many knowledge areas, and in relation to its ability of coordinating groups, as well as being able to use activities as means of linking and intervening with the assisted population. It has also been verified a demand from the interviewed participants of discussing the socio educational measures and occupational therapy.