Supporting families before the break: a family care pathway to prevent the intergenerational transmission of poverty among children in Brazil

Input submitted to the call of the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights for the official visit to Brazil (7–16 December 2026), addressing the social protection system, with a focus on children and on women who head households alone, and the role of local governments. Brazil has a broad legal framework and a public network installed in every municipality, but most structured responses reach families after the rupture. The input proposes organising existing support into a single family care pathway in three stages: before (the school prepares for family life), during (primary health care orients the family) and in crisis (a single door at the social assistance reference centre welcomes the family), coordinated by municipalities and requiring no new structures. It closes with five recommendations, including recognition of the "uncovered shift" and the adoption of trajectory review as a learning mechanism.