PERCEPÇÕES DE CUIDADORAS SOBRE CRIANÇAS E ADOLESCENTES INSTITUCIONALIZADOS E A RELAÇÃO COM SUA ATUAÇÃO PROFISSIONAL

ABSTRACT Currently, in Brazil, institutional care services have more than thirty thousand children and adolescents in care. The institutional shelter is the service responsible for offering temporary shelter for children and adolescents separated from their original family life. To this end, the services must follow what is established in the Reception Service Technical Guidelines Manual, which, among its requirements, provides for the role of caregivers/educators in the professional team, who will be responsible, in addition to the basic care routine, for providing helping children and adolescents understand their life stories, strengthening self-esteem and building identity. Thus, this research analyzed the perception of caregivers regarding their professional work with institutionalized children and adolescents. The research carried out is qualitative in nature, descriptive, with the application of a semi-structured interview with the caregivers/educators of a shelter institution aimed at children and adolescents, which is located in a municipality in the mid-western region of Santa Catarina. It is noteworthy that categorical analysis was used to verify the data, based on the perspective of Urie Brofenbrenner's Bioecological Theory. The results showed that historically care is attributed to women, as well as the beliefs of the caregivers interviewed, understood as the view they have of themselves, others and the world, significantly influence the way they carry out their work and, consequently, , in the development process of institutionalized children and adolescents. Therefore, from the survey of this information, it is concluded that there is a need for professional qualification and psychological guidance for these professionals. Keywords: institutional reception; children; teenagers; caregivers.