Alternative for care for children in Brazil: how social norms are influencing judges’ capacity to fulfil the child’s right to family and community living

This study looks into how the standards of child care, shaped by the Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC) and UN Guidelines for Alternative Care of Children have led to progressive reforms of Brazil’s alternative childcare system. The current gap that exists between law and practice in this realm has been associated with social norms that are in ways determining judges’ ability and willingness to comply with Brazil’s internationally embraced plan. The research aims to show that efforts must be made to engage with judges at a local level throughout the country to increase commitment to the country’s initiative to move away from the institutional systems that have been predominant throughout Brazil’s history. To present this case, I have utilized both theoretical and analytical methods to attain a deeper understanding of the elements creating the reality of the role of the judiciary and more specifically of judges in the country’s intricate alternative care system. The relationship between law and social development and law and governance along with sociological approaches such as the social construct of childhood and norm socialization were all considered in the Brazilian context and combined with an investigative study revealing the evolution of Brazil’s contemporary child based approach to alternative care. To better understand the magnitude of a judge’s duty and how social norms can affect that responsibilities, a capacity gap analysis was performed. The data used to perform this analysis was collected in Brazil through a series of interviews with over twenty individuals including judges, heads of ministries and grassroots workers. Their testaments confirmed among other things, that a judge’s commitment and leadership in this movement are paramount in ensuring the implementation of new norms that promise to act in the best interest of children and adolescents.