Programa Puente – between the family and its rights Castries – Mayo 2009 Santa Lucía

What is FOSIS? The Solidarity and Social Investment Fund (FOSIS) is a public agency of the Chilean Government dedicated to poverty reduction. It was created in 1990 with the return of democracy to Chile, and works with the poorest in the 15 Regions of the country. FOSIS interacts with the Presidency through the Ministry of Planning (MIDEPLAN).

FOSIS’ Mission “To participate in the national effort to eliminate poverty by contributing original responses to emerging problems and engaging in complementary action with other public services and ministries” Chile in Solidarity System In 2002, President Ricardo Lagos put forth the challenge to reduce extreme poverty in Chile by the year This governmental initiative led to the creation of the Chile in Solidarity System (MIDEPLAN) and the transformation of the Bridge Program: between the family and its rights (FOSIS) into the entrance to the System.

Chile in Solidarity The Chile Solidarity System was created to incorporate families living in extreme poverty into the States’s Social Protection Network in a guaranteed and / or preferential manner. Integral support is given to the families through three channels:

Chile in Solidarity  Psychosocial support: The Bridge Program (FOSIS) personal identification; health; education; family dynamics; housing conditions; employment and income. The psychosocial support consists of personalized accompaniment by a Family Support Counselor, a professional or field expert, who works with the family to complete a series of work sessions during home visits. The fundamental role of this professional is to link the families with the public and private network of services in the areas of: personal identification; health; education; family dynamics; housing conditions; employment and income. This accompaniment continues for 24 months as a stimulus to develop the strengths within the family nucleus.

Chile in Solidarity  Preferential access to divers social promotion programs  Improvement of academic and occupational competencies  Technical assistance for the disabled  Drug prevention and rehabilitation  Special attention to high-risk children  Domestic violence prevention and support services  Preferential subsidies given for employers hiring the unemployed heads of households pertaining to the families incorporated into this system.

Chile in Solidarity Protective Vouchers  Allocation of the traditional monetary subsides: assistential pensions, pure water subsides, elderly pensions and the Protective Vouchers for each family: a) USD 20 received in each of the initial six months b)USD 15 received monthly, from month 7 to the end of the first year. c) USD 10 received monthly between month 13 and the middle of the second year. d) USD 8 received each of the final six months.

FOSIS’ experiences with the Social Protection System The design of the Puente [Bridge] Program has its roots and sense in the following strategic definitions: 1. Extreme poverty is a phenomenon that can be reversed. 2. The most efficient way to overcome extreme poverty is to work within the families. 3. The feasibility of intervention depends on the existence of operators who work directly with the families. 4. Poverty intervention requires a permanent and sustainable work over time. 5. The intervention requires some initial support focused on strengthening psycho-emotional aspects of the family.

FOSIS’ experiences with the Social Protection System 6.It is necessary to work with a qualitative approach to poverty. 7. Poverty has economic and socio cultural causes and expressions. 8. Poverty intervention implies the consideration of material and subjective aspects. 9. Extreme poverty does not prevent the creation or development of social capital. 10. The expansion of the family’s network is a way to increase social capital.

Areas of Intervention Social Recognition: Through the work of the family support counselor, the beneficiary is recognized as an integral person. The counselor listens to the family, and new spaces of conversation are opened with the counselor and within the family itself. Assistance and Social Protection: The state-provided assistance efficiently reaches the family. The counselor helps the family to resolve its problems using the resources available. Possibilities for the Future: Chile in Solidarity not only promises to help families move out of extreme poverty, but also to help them reach their goals (education, homeownership, etc.) In addition, it promises to bring about permanent structural changes.

Areas of Intervention Families are invited to participate in the program based on the national FPS record system, used by every municipality to keep detailed records of the poor and indigent families of its district. personalized development plan The family support counselor creates a personalized development plan together with each member of the family, combining the program’s fixed components with the family members’ goals and priorities. commitment contract To begin the program, each family must sign a commitment contract in which they commit themselves to achieving the goals which they set with their counselor.

The Connection between Chile in Solidarity and the Municipalities The participation of the local Municipality is an indispensable prerequisite for the intallation of the Program in a territory. Each Municipality is formally invited to take part in the Program by means of an official letter. If the Municipality decides not to participate in the Program, it is not installed in that territory. At the time that the Municipality accepts the invitation to participate in the Program in writing, an installation process designed to form the Family Intervention Unit, to train the family support counselors that will work as part of the Unit and to transfer the methodology and support materials for the psychosocial support to the beneficiary families is begun.

Managament of the Bridge Program FAMILIES Family Intervention Unit Local Intervention Network Municipality Regional BRIDGE Coordination and Provincial Support National BRIDGE Supervisory Team

What are the characteristics that distinguish the intervention model of the Puente Program? Strengthening the Social Protection System: taking care of 5% of the most vulnerable population as preferred subjects and articulating services and social benefits in the Puente Program. Strengthening entrepreneurship: through a system of support, which is sequential and phased, approaching the consolidation of less developed microenterprises.

What are the characteristics that distinguish the intervention model of the Puente Program? Enhancing employability: through a program that helps to improve skills and employment opportunities, especially for young people. Strengthening the social and community dimension: through interventions that contribute to the development of human and social capital of the most vulnerable.

What are the characteristics that distinguish the intervention model of the Puente Program? The growing consolidation of the Social Protection System in Chile shows that: It provides support to addressing critical situations (unemployment, sickness, disability, old age, poverty). It promises to empower people to fulfill the characteristic duties of the stage of their lifecycle. It amends the existing conditions in their environment (expanding opportunities and making them accessible).

What are the characteristics that distinguish the intervention model of the Puente Program? It addresses the specific conditions that explain the vulnerability of individuals (life cycle, age, gender, ethnicity). It is placed in the local territories in order to correct inequities that affect the welfare of individuals and communities. It tends to a potential universal coverage, but with different mechanisms of access and service provision.

effective and autonomous development links to the service networks The Chilean Social Protection System is a structure of territorial opportunities with an intervention focus rather on co - responsibility than on conditionality. This feature distinguishes the Puente Program from other Conditional Cash Transfer Programs. The effort is to install practices and skills in the family members in order to enable them to overcome their condition of poverty and vulnerability: through interactions that allow an effective and autonomous development, through real possibilities of links to the service networks in order to resolve their support claims satisfactorily, and through opportunities for integration and social inclusion. Finally

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