Foster Care and Reintegration: Different Portuguese Similarities

Abstract

Foster care is a legally recognized family-community alternative in Portugal, designed to protect and care for children in situations where their rights are under attack. With the intent of expanding our knowledge of the Portuguese experience, through an intercultural dialogue between Brazil and Portugal, this article allows us to problematize what has happened with the process of family reintegration of those under care. To this end, we have used the content analysis methodology proposed by Bardin. It was possible to see that Portuguese foster care has been a residual protective social response if compared to institutionalization and reintegration has proved itself to be a complex challenge.