A percepção dos burocratas sobre a discricionariedade no preenchimento do Cadastramento Único: o caso do Centro de Referencia em Assistência Social do sul de Minas

Abstract

The objective of this research was to identify the perception of street level bureaucrats on discretion, treated in this study as a relative autonomy, at the moment of filling the Single Register in a Reference Center in Social Assistance (CRAS). In order to do this, we tried to understand how the decisions in this unit were taken by the actors and what were the motivations that led them to act in this way. The methodology used comprised a qualitative exploratory approach, through the study of a case from the South of Minas. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews were carried out with the social interviewer, the municipal family grant manager and the CRAS coordinator, as a procedure for data collection. As a result, it was found that discretion is a characteristic of the execution of some activities in public positions and, therefore, perhaps can not be eliminated through the option of dismissal. In certain cases, discretion makes bureaucrats choose to make decisions using value judgments, which is contrary to the technical recommendations for the operationalization of public policy. In the case of CRAS, it was noticed that the social interviewer, in a way to commit equal justice, appealed to her human side to make judgments in the execution of her work. As far as the coordinator is concerned, she concludes that autonomy can occur as long as it does not exceed the limits of the law that the unit follows. For the family grant manager, autonomy is important and it is necessary to obey the rules already established, however, it makes it clear that all cases have exceptions.