Actions by state and federal courts aimed at the protection and development of children were presented in the webinar “Disseminating Good Practices of the Judiciary” promoted by the National Council of Justice (CNJ). Advisor Richard Pae Kim, moderator of the seminar and president of the National Forum for Children and Youth (Foninj), highlighted the importance of uniting projects from the Childhood and Youth Axis. “Listening to the experience of managers of initiatives that allow the improvement of policies in the Judiciary is fundamental. Our desire is that these good practices can be applied across the country,” he stated.
Offering free socio-professional training for young people, the Pescar Project’s Legal-Labor Community was detailed by the judge of the Regional Labor Court of the 4th Region (TRF4) Aline Doral Stefani Fagundes. The project was developed for young people in situations of social vulnerability and has the support of public and private organizations. “We observed in court that the prevalence of the informal market among young people can compromise their professional trajectories. The young person who is inserted into an informal vacancy has lower pay”, explained the judge.
With a workload of 800 hours, the “Professional Initiation in Administrative Services” course is offered to young members of the action. According to the judge, 60% of the material available refers to personal development and citizenship content, including ethics, health, sustainability and entrepreneurship. A significant part of the teaching program includes technical subjects in administration, law and electronic judicial proceedings. “To date, 145 students have been trained by Projeto Pescar and another 31 are expected to complete their training by the end of 2023”, he celebrated.
The OAB bears the costs of the program and the TRF-4 provides the physical space and seeks volunteers among its employees. In addition to promoting the necessary coordination to ensure the execution of the project. The Public Ministry of Labor of Rio Grande do Sul pays for food, life insurance and volunteers to help with the project. To join the program, interested young people must register on the Pescar Project Foundation website, undergo an interview and receive a visit to their home to verify that all established criteria have been met.
Children’s rights
The Court of Justice of Sergipe (TJSE) contributed to the inclusion of two practices. Judge Iracy Ribeiro Mangueira Marques, coordinator of Children and Youth at TJSE, brought two projects to the seminar. The first initiative is the Familiarize Project, created in 2009, which concentrates a set of actions committed to the principles of full protection provided for in the constitutional text. The proposal even received an honorable mention for the Absolute Priority Award, from the CNJ.
Through family and community coexistence, the project seeks to guarantee that children and adolescents have the right to join the original nucleus of their family. Only in exceptional cases will young people be sent to a foster family. Those responsible for the initiative carry out monthly monitoring of young people in reception units. In the 2021-2022 biennium, the program reached 66 municipalities in Sergipe.
Integrated Action Program for Strengthening the System for Guaranteeing and Defending Children’s Rights (Praif) is the second project in Sergipe included in the list of Good Practices for children and youth. With the initiative, the TJSE works to strengthen the implementation of socio-educational measures in an open environment and the provision of protective care.
Judge Iracy clarified that Praif is aligned with the Ten-Year State Plan for Socio-Educational Assistance (2015-2024), defined by the Government of the State of Sergipe. The program, according to her, even operates in spaces left in other axes that are outside the Justice System. “This action fills gaps and allows for qualified provision both within the Judiciary and in the actions, services and responsibilities of the Executive Branch,” she stated.
Child welfare
The creation of a safe environment for the care of children, aged 0 to 12, whose parents need to attend hearings in civil and criminal courts, was one of the concerns of the Court of Justice of Piauí (TJPI) when launching the Sala da Criança project. The space is not a toy library, but rather a place dedicated to protecting children.
According to the deputy coordinator of the Judicial Center for Conflict Resolution and Citizenship (Cejusc), judge Lucicleide Pereira Belo, before the project, the Teresina Central Forum did not even have a baby changing room. The judge explained that, without the Children’s Room, parents who were going to participate in hearings had to divide their attention between participating in the trial and caring for their children.
Responsible for running the Children’s Room, the secretary of Cejusc in Teresina, Rita Maria de Sousa Almeida Oliveira, explained that many children were exposed to traumatic situations, such as divorce hearings or domestic violence, for example.
Now, children between 0 and 2 years old are taken to the room accompanied by a family member. In other cases, when they are over 2 years old, they are received by employees trained in welcoming them. “The objective of the room is to promote citizenship by ensuring the fundamental rights of children and adolescents. It encourages dialogue and the peaceful resolution of conflicts,” she highlighted.
Good habits
The director of Strategic Management at CNJ, Fabiana Gomes, emphasized that the webinar is a way of publicizing successful court projects across the country. “The tool, established in 2019, is extremely important to disseminate good and simple experiences to be replicated in other bodies”, she concluded.
Review the webinar on the CNJ YouTube channel
Text: Ana Moura
Editing: Thaís Cieglinski
CNJ News Agency
