The Bolsa Escola program in Brazil provides
families with a monthly stipend so that children can attend school
instead of work in the streets. The program, which began in the city of
Brasilia, was created with the realization that the working children of
today are the poor adults of tomorrow. Bolsa Escola was expanded to a
federal program in 2001.
This tactic addresses one of the root causes of child labor: families
who would like to send their children to school but cannot afford to do
so because they need the income.
The Bolsa Escola program is managed by the Department of Education.
Qualifying families receive monthly payments and ATM cards (electronic
bank cards) that allow them to access the stipends directly. Families
must meet the following criteria: The children must be between the ages
of six and 15 and cannot miss more than two days of school per month;
each unemployed adult in the family must be registered with the
National Employment System (SINE) and actively seeking employment; and
the family must have lived in Brazil for at least five years. The
family receives the stipend for a minimum of two years with a maximum
of eight years. If a child does not meet the mandatory attendance rate,
the stipend for that month is withheld.
In addition to encouraging children to complete their education and
combating poverty, this tactic has significantly decreased the numbers
of child laborers and reduced the numbers of school dropouts. To date
the Bolsa Escola has helped the families of 8,289,930 children. When
the federal program was created, Bolsa Escola became the broadest
social program in the world.
Often families are complicit in the abuse of child labor – not because
they want to be but because their livelihood depends on it – this
tactic provides the incentive and alternative to avoid that. Providing
ATM cards that look like and can be used like other ATM cards also
helps recipients avoid the stigma associated with poverty and public
assistance. This approach of compensating parents through monthly
payments requires significant financial resources. The Bolsa Escola
program also demanded a great deal of administration and coordination
among the various agencies and institutions.
Providing parents with funds that allow them to send their children to school rather than to work
