What causes a person to lose Bolsa Família? Understand the criteria

Bolsa Família is an extremely important social program in Brazil, created with the aim of fighting poverty and promoting social inclusion. Through direct income transfers to vulnerable families, the program has impacted millions of Brazilians, providing access to food, education and health. However, in order to ensure that the benefit goes to the families that really need it, there are criteria and conditions that must be met. 

What is Bolsa Família?

Before we discuss the criteria for losing Bolsa Família, it is essential to understand how this social program works and its objectives. Bolsa Família was created in 2003, during the government of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, consolidating various social programs that existed at the time. Its main purpose is to promote income distribution and social inclusion, helping families in situations of extreme poverty.

The program works by directly transferring income to registered families, who receive a monthly amount according to their family composition, per capita income and other variables. This financial aid aims to guarantee the beneficiary families access to minimum survival conditions, such as food, health and education.

Criteria for joining Bolsa Família

To be eligible for Bolsa Família, families need to meet a series of criteria established by the federal government. These criteria include:

Per capita income

Families must prove that they have a monthly per capita income of up to half the minimum wage to qualify for extreme poverty, or up to three minimum wages to qualify for poverty.

Single Registry (CadÚnico)

Families must be registered with the Federal Government's Single Registry for Social Programs. CadÚnico is an instrument for collecting information that makes it possible to identify and characterize low-income families, and is the gateway to various social programs, including Bolsa Família.

Up-to-date registration

Families' registration information in CadÚnico must be up to date, with accurate data on family composition, income, schooling, among other aspects.

Compliance with conditionalities

In addition to the income and registration criteria, Bolsa Família beneficiary families must comply with the so-called conditionalities, which involve the school attendance of children and adolescents, health monitoring, such as vaccinations and prenatal care, and the monitoring of pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Failure to meet any of these criteria can result in exclusion from the program and loss of the benefit.

What makes a person lose Bolsa Família?

Just as there are criteria for joining Bolsa Família, there are also conditions that can lead to the loss of the benefit. It is important to note that the program is constantly being reviewed and updated to ensure that resources are allocated fairly and efficiently, reaching the families who really need them.

Below, we highlight some of the main reasons for losing Bolsa Família:

1. Increased family income

An increase in family income is a significant factor that can lead to exclusion from Bolsa Família. This criterion is fundamental to ensure that the program gives priority to families in situations of extreme poverty and poverty, directing public resources to those who need them most.

Why is rising income a reason for exclusion?

• Reducing economic vulnerability: Bolsa Família aims to help families in a situation of economic vulnerability, providing temporary financial support so that they can overcome difficulties and achieve greater financial stability. When there is a significant increase in family income, this vulnerability is reduced, which may make it unnecessary to continue receiving the benefit.
• Prioritization of resources: As Bolsa Família's resources are limited, it is essential that they are targeted effectively and fairly. When one family experiences an increase in income, other families in a more precarious situation may benefit more from the program's financial aid. In this way, excluding families who no longer fit the income criteria allows resources to be reallocated to those who need them most.

Challenges and implications of increasing family income

While increased income is a positive sign of economic progress for a family, it can also bring challenges and implications that need to be considered:

• Smooth transition: For many families, Bolsa Família represents a significant part of their income. Therefore, the transition away from the program due to increased income should be made gradually and accompanied by support policies that help families remain financially stable.
• Follow-up and assistance: It is essential that social policies are not limited to providing financial benefits, but also include follow-up and assistance programs to ensure that families excluded from Bolsa Família continue to receive support to access education, employment and economic development opportunities.
• Structural challenges: Increasing family income may not be enough to guarantee long-term economic security, especially if families face structural challenges such as limited access to quality health and education services, lack of decent job opportunities and vulnerability to economic crises.

Importance of periodic review

To ensure that Bolsa Família remains effective and aligned with its objectives of fighting poverty and promoting social inclusion, it is essential that there are periodic reviews of the eligibility criteria, taking into account changes in the socio-economic conditions of beneficiary families and society as a whole. 

These reviews must be carried out with care and sensitivity, ensuring that families who really need the benefit continue to receive it, while at the same time promoting economic development and family autonomy.

2. Non-compliance with conditionalities

The conditionalities are requirements established by Bolsa Família to ensure that beneficiary families have access not only to financial aid, but also to essential services such as education and health. Failure to comply with these conditionalities can result in the suspension or cancellation of the benefit, since it compromises the main purpose of the program, which is to promote human development and social inclusion.

Importance of conditionalities

Conditionalities are essential for several reasons:

• Promoting education: By requiring children and adolescents benefiting from Bolsa Família to maintain a minimum school attendance, the program contributes to promoting education and combating school dropouts. Education is a crucial tool for breaking the cycle of poverty and promoting individual and collective development.
• Ensuring access to health: Health-related conditionalities, such as regular medical monitoring, vaccinations and prenatal care, are essential to ensure that families have access to basic health services and prevent avoidable diseases. This contributes to improving the quality of life and well-being of beneficiary families.
• Investment in the future: By complying with the conditionalities, families not only guarantee the continuity of the Bolsa Família benefit, but also invest in their children's future, providing them with better opportunities for development and personal fulfillment.

3. Outdated information in CadÚnico

The Single Registry is a fundamental tool for identifying and selecting families who are entitled to various social programs, including Bolsa Família. Therefore, the accuracy and updating of the information contained in this register is essential to ensure that the benefit goes to the families that really need it.

The importance of updating the CadÚnico

• Guaranteed data accuracy: CadÚnico contains detailed information on family composition, income, schooling, housing conditions and other socioeconomic characteristics of registered families. This data is used to determine families' eligibility for Bolsa Família and other social programs. It is therefore essential that this information is up-to-date and accurate.
• Identifying changes in the socio-economic situation: Outdated information in CadÚnico may not accurately reflect the reality of registered families. Changes in family composition, income or other circumstances may not be recorded, which can lead to distortions in the distribution of benefits and harm families who really need the aid.
• Efficient management of social programs: An updated CadÚnico allows for more efficient management of social programs, facilitating the identification and selection of eligible families, as well as helping to evaluate the impact of these programs and formulate more effective public policies.

4. Change of domicile

Moving house is a common event in the lives of families, whether for reasons of work, study, the search for better living conditions or other factors. However, it is important for Bolsa Família beneficiary families to update their address information in the Federal Government's Single Registry for Social Programs (CadÚnico) whenever they move house. Failure to update the address can have negative consequences for the continuity of the benefit.

Impact of moving house on Bolsa Família

• Loss of contact: When a family moves house without updating their address in the CadÚnico, they lose contact with the bodies responsible for managing Bolsa Família, such as the city hall or the social assistance office. This makes it difficult for the family to communicate with those responsible for the program, which can result in the suspension or cancellation of the benefit.
• Communication difficulties: Even if the family wishes to keep the Bolsa Família benefit after moving house, they may face difficulties in communicating their new situation to the responsible bodies. This can be especially complicated in remote areas or in communities where communication services are limited.
• Risk of unfair exclusion: If a family does not update its address in the CadÚnico after moving house, it runs the risk of being unfairly excluded from the program. This can happen even if the family still meets the Bolsa Família eligibility criteria, simply due to a lack of communication or updating of data.

5. Other irregularities

In addition to the criteria already mentioned, such as an increase in family income, non-compliance with conditionalities, outdated information in CadÚnico and moving house, there are other irregularities that can also result in the loss of the Bolsa Família benefit. These include

• Fraud: Fraud, such as falsifying documents or declaring false information in CadÚnico, is one of the main reasons for exclusion from the program. This can include declaring a lower income than the real one in order to qualify for the benefit, or omitting information about changes in family composition or socio-economic situation.
• Omission of relevant information: The omission of relevant information in the CadÚnico can also result in the loss of Bolsa Família. For example, if a family fails to inform the program about an additional source of income they are receiving, or about a change in family composition, this can constitute an irregularity and lead to exclusion from the benefit.
• Improper use of the benefit: Improper use of the Bolsa Família benefit, such as using the funds for purposes other than those intended, can also result in penalties and the loss of the benefit. For example, if a family uses Bolsa Família money to buy non-essential goods or services, this can be considered an irregularity and lead to exclusion from the program.
• Receipt of duplicate benefits: Receiving duplicate benefits, whether from Bolsa Família or other social programs, is an irregularity that can result in the loss of the benefit. Beneficiary families should inform the program if they are receiving other government benefits to avoid this type of situation.
• Failure to attend calls or updates: Failure to carry out mandatory registration updates or to attend program summonses can also result in the loss of Bolsa Família. It is important that beneficiary families are attentive to the information and guidelines provided by the program and comply with the established requirements.

A crucial role in social inequality

Bolsa Família plays a crucial role in reducing social inequality and promoting the inclusion of millions of Brazilians. However, in order to guarantee the effectiveness and sustainability of the program, the eligibility criteria must be strictly observed and the beneficiary families must comply with the established conditionalities.

Understanding what causes a person to lose Bolsa Família is fundamental so that families can remain within the requirements and so that the program's resources are directed to the people who really need them. In addition, it is important that the government and society continue to work together to improve and strengthen social programs, ensuring that they effectively contribute to building a fairer and more equal country.

See also: Can people who work with a formal contract receive Bolsa Família?

March 31, 2024