Summary

This policy brief presents the main findings of the study conducted on the implementation of the Community Care Centers (CCC) “Chile Cuida” in four territorial contexts. The research shows substantial progress in emotional well-being, relief of caregiver overload, and public recognition of caregivers. At the same time, it finds that community co-responsibility is still in its early stages and is strongly conditioned by structural gaps: territorial isolation and transportation difficulties in rural areas, urban insecurity, rotation of local teams, and the persistence of family- and gender-based mandates. Based on these lessons, the publication makes recommendations to consolidate caregivers as subjects of priority rights, strengthen coordination with local health services, and scale the program within the National System of Supports and Care (SNAC) through a explicit theory of change and criteria for territorial relevance.

Summary

This policy brief presents the results of the project "Weaving Care," a participatory research carried out together with 51 women caregivers, leaders, and traditional knowledge holders from 25 indigenous, Afro-Colombian, Raizal, and Palenquero communities from various regions of the country. The study shows that in these territories, care is understood as an integral practice that is inseparable from the land, traditional knowledge—such as midwifery and local medicine—and community networks that sustain life. However, these knowledges and practices have historically been made invisible by predominantly urban and homogeneous public policy frameworks, creating institutional tensions that limit their recognition. Based on this evidence, the document provides strategic inputs for the design and implementation of the ethnic chapter of the National Care System and the National Care Policy (CONPES 4143), emphasizing the need to open spaces for intercultural dialogue and ensure active community participation in public decision-making.

Summary

This policy brief brings together the main findings from the evaluation carried out on two local experiences in childcare and job training. The study shows that creating infrastructure and services is essential, but not enough on its own: territorial accessibility, transportation, predictable schedules, service quality, and community trust directly affect their effective use. At the same time, it notes that these spaces strengthen child development, build neighborhood support networks, and expand women's economic autonomy. Based on these lessons, the publication offers recommendations aimed at strengthening the local state's guaranteeing role, closing coverage gaps throughout the life cycle, and consolidating evaluation methodologies that can be transferred to other municipalities in the region.

Summary

This policy brief summarizes the results of the evaluation of the 'Family of Care' program. The analysis shows that combining home care for older adults, financial stipends, and certified training for caregivers is an effective way to prevent unnecessary institutionalization and give recognition to work that has historically gone unnoticed. However, the study warns that these advances coexist with critical issues like work overload, lack of social protection, and weak contractual formalization in the sector. Based on this assessment, the publication outlines a roadmap aimed at moving beyond a strictly assistential approach and laying the groundwork for a Comprehensive Care System, strengthening CONAPE's leadership, ensuring decent working conditions, and linking home care services with the health and social security network.

Summary

This policy brief brings together the conclusions of the evaluation of the Socio-Educational Inclusion Scholarship (BIS) Program for early childhood. The study shows that funding access to childcare centers generates a “triple dividend”: it promotes early development in children, provides personal time for training or labor market entry for young mothers in vulnerable situations, and boosts quality standards in the centers. At the same time, the evaluation points out bottlenecks in scholarship management and referral, follow-up by the state after enrollment that often becomes inconsistent, and the risk of interruption in the educational trajectory after graduation. Based on these conclusions, the document proposes recommendations to speed up scholarship allocation, coordinate support with employment services, link with ANEP for post-graduation school continuity, and recognize the rest and life projects of caregivers within the goals of the National Care Plan 2026-2030.

Summary

This policy brief presents the results of the evaluation of two interventions aimed at caregivers of households benefiting from the National CONTIGO Program, carried out in Metropolitan Lima and La Libertad, Peru, during 2024 and 2025. The study analyzes the effects of emotional support, caregiver training, home visits, and the promotion of mutual support networks. The findings show progress in recognizing care work, a positive assessment of the support provided, and a lower perception of isolation, although no sustained changes are evident in reducing or redistributing caregiving responsibilities.

 Likewise, difficulties are identified in consolidating autonomous support networks, especially in rural areas, due to economic, territorial, and institutional barriers. Based on these results, the document recommends strengthening comprehensive support with gender and disability approaches, promoting family and community co-responsibility, improving coordination with public services, and developing monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. It also highlights the need to expand support and relief services, recognizing care as a fundamental component of social protection.

Summary

This policy brief gathers the findings of the study on promoting gender justice in the care of dependent elderly people in vulnerable communities. The research assesses the impact of the Maior Cuidado Program (PMC) —launched in Belo Horizonte and expanded to municipalities like Salvador and Contagem— which provides between 10 and 20 hours of home support per week through paid and trained caregivers. 

The study shows that the program reduces the burden and physical strain on caregiving families, while formalizing a public workforce with labor rights and helping to reduce poverty in households. However, the findings warn that deeply rooted gender norms persist that hinder male shared responsibility: there is strong family resistance to men taking on direct physical care tasks, while paid staff demand better salary recognition and containment in the face of the complexity of the neighborhood environment. Based on this evidence, the publication recommends scaling the PMC model to the federal level within Brazil's National Care Plan, implementing community communication strategies focused on positive masculinities to encourage men's participation in the sector, and routinely recording caregivers' trajectories in local public statistics.

Summary

This policy brief summarizes the results of the pilot participatory action research project carried out in peri-urban areas of Cartagena. The initiative assessed the operation of 22 community care initiatives in 10 peripheral neighborhoods and implemented technical strengthening plans and material support with three prioritized organizations.  

The research shows that community initiatives are an organized and collective response to sustain life in the face of structural state absence, with 80.2% of the work carried out by women who face material hardship, lack of infrastructure, and irregular funding. At the same time, the study identifies a critical tension: in some cases, access to resources and training activities ended up increasing the workload of the female leaders, without generating an effective redistribution of care within their families and communities.  

Based on these lessons, The document sets out guidelines for the design of the Community Care Strategy of the National Care System and the National Care Policy, recommending to ensure decent infrastructure and continuous supplies, design training programs adapted to the local area, and guarantee active state co-responsibility without distorting or commercializing the neighborhood organizational fabric.

Summary

This policy brief presents the evaluation of the pilot study of the Care Environments Model in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. Inspired by Bogotá’s Care Blocks, the program combined a six-module training path in physical and emotional well-being and productive skills with temporary care relief services in two contrasting institutional contexts: Zapopan and Tlajomulco de Zúñiga. 

The evaluation shows positive impacts on the participants' emotional well-being, an 83.6% increase in certified training, and improvements in generating their own income. However, the study shows that the overall reduction in time spent on caregiving at home was limited due to the short duration of relief during the sessions, the persistent lack of male co-responsibility, and significant gaps in the municipalities' prior institutional capacity to sustain the service. 

Based on these results, the publication formulates recommendations to link this model to the State and Municipal Care Systems, expand the public offer with specialized services (care for dependent elderly people with adapted transportation, neurodivergence, and mental health), involve the private sector with flexible work schemes, and ensure budget allocations that go beyond election cycles.

Summary

This policy brief brings together the conclusions of the study on the Personal Assistants (PA) Program of the National Integrated Care System. The research analyzes the transition towards a pilot collective cooperative provision model in Salto and Tacuarembó, aimed at overcoming the critical bottlenecks of the traditional individual home-based hiring scheme for people with severe dependency.  

The study shows that cooperative management leads to significant improvements in technical support, resolving family conflicts, sense of belonging, and the working conditions of the employees. Despite these advances, the evaluation highlights structural challenges regarding the economic and financial sustainability of cooperatives without ongoing initial subsidies, the need for specific training for complex situations (like childhood issues, autism, or mental health), and the limited coordination of replacements to redistribute unpaid care work that families take on during leave.

Based on this diagnosis, the publication recommends ensuring funding and technical support for cooperative management, strengthening training programs, actively involving the Care Advisory Committee, and designing policies that comprehensively consider both the cooperative model and the 98% of pairs that still operate under the individual scheme.