Between the design of a public policy and the reality of a family in a situation of social vulnerability, there is a common thread that is often decisive – public management. It is through direct contact with the territories that social programs cease to be mere ideas on paper. For public servant and coordinator of the Happy Child Program in Itu (SP), Isis Paloma, this process requires presence, coordination, and listening.
A RenovaBR alumna, she holds a law degree and has a background in social work and defending women's rights, working precisely where public policies reach families.
For Isis, the main obstacle to implementing social policies is understanding that social vulnerability does not appear in isolation. "Many families face, simultaneously, unemployment, food insecurity, violence, emotional distress, fragile family ties, and difficulty accessing basic rights," she says.
Therefore, she emphasizes that isolated public policies tend to have a limited reach. The integration between social assistance, health, education, housing, and other services generates more effective responses. "When public policies interact with each other, we can see the family in a more human way and build more efficient responses," she points out.
When territory becomes the starting point
Isis highlights the central importance of having a presence in the community. Often, families in more vulnerable situations are unable to access services on their own – whether due to lack of information, resources, or fear.
"When the team is present in the territory, it creates bonds, listens and welcomes, so public policy ceases to be just an administrative structure and begins to generate concrete transformation in people's lives," he says.
This logic guides the operation of the Happy Child program, which she coordinates, and which supports pregnant women and young children, from zero to six years old, in situations of social vulnerability through home visits carried out by professionals in the field. In addition to providing guidance on basic care, the program strengthens family bonds and creates safe environments for child development.
“It is a public policy that plays an important role in coordination. During monitoring, we often identify needs related to education, domestic violence, food insecurity, and we refer them for follow-up with the intersectoral network,” explains Isis.
Transformation also requires occupying spaces.
Throughout her career, the civil servant witnessed stories that reinforced both the potential and the limitations of public policies. She recounts seeing families arrive at the services in situations of extreme vulnerability and, through the strengthening of bonds and access to rights, rebuild autonomy and life prospects.
But experience has also shown the limits of state action when there is a lack of continuity, investment, and integration between policies. "No policy can produce an impact on its own," he emphasizes.
It was precisely from this experience that the decision to compete for political spaces arose. A candidate in the 2022 elections and with plans to continue building her public career in the coming years, Isis affirms that her technical experience awakened in her the perception that social transformation also depends on decision-making spaces.
According to her, professionals who understand the realities of public services and are familiar with the daily lives of families need to participate in institutional policy building.
"Those who know the reality of families, women, children, and public services understand that politics should not be just talk; it needs to be commitment, responsibility, and concrete transformation in people's lives," she concludes.
