In Brazil, children and adolescents are engaged mainly in agriculture and livestock activities. In 1996 the federal government launched the Child Labor Eradication Program with the specific goal of eradicating child labor. It started in selected states, and focused on children living in rural areas and engaged in dangerous activities. Later on the program was expanded nationwide and to urban areas. This program provided monthly cash payments to families with children between the age of 7 and 14 and with a per capita income below half the minimum monthly wage. The conditions are an agreement to withdraw the child from work and to maintain them attending regular school and after-school program, named Jornada Ampliada. In Brazil children stay only four or five hours a day in school. Thus the after-school program should lead with the families difficulties to take care of the children while they are not at school providing support to study for school, as well as sports, culture, artistic and leisure activities.
The program should also address the promotion and social inclusion of the families through the adult’s participation in socio-educative activities and in projects of professional qualification and to generate employment and income. According to the Ministry of Social Development, in 2005, one million children were beneficiaries of the Child Labor Eradication Program, with the government budget reaching 220 million US dollars. In that same year the operational part of the Child Labor Eradication Program as well as its cash transfer component was merged into the Bolsa Familia Program (larger CCT program in the world). In 2006, the Child Labor Eradication Program was integrated with the Bolsa Familia adding to this program the conditionality of having no children working in the beneficiary family.
CCT programs are important instrument to combat child labor.
Prof. Ana Lucia Kassouf