They are found in hospital laundries and gardens in different regions of the Federal District, as well as in maintenance services and administrative areas. The Government of the Federal District (GDF), through the Imprisoned Worker Support Foundation (Funap), offers employment and resocialization opportunities to 2,975 currently re-educated people. The number more than tripled compared to that recorded in 2019, when there were around 800 convicts hired.
Of the total number of re-educated students, 2,784 work in external actions by Funap – that is, they are allocated to public bodies, private companies and the third sector. Already 191 work within the prison system, in so-called internal work. In total, there are 90 employment contracts. There are still 1,258 re-educated students awaiting an opportunity to serve.
Created by Law No. 7,533, of September 2, 1986, Funap completed 37 years of existence this year and, as a celebration, launched a new professional insertion program for re-educated students. It is Capacita Funap, an initiative that aims to make convict labor available to companies that express interest in receiving this type of assistance.
“The foundation will hire the re-educated students and make them available to companies that are interested for three months at no cost”, explains Funap’s executive director, Deuselita Martins. At the end of the period, the company will be able to hire the re-educated students and begin a new learning and resocialization process with new participants. On the other hand, if the company decides not to make any hires, it will be suspended from the program for one year.
The costs of re-educating students will be the responsibility of Funap – resocialization salary, calculated from three quarters of the minimum wage, equivalent to R$990, food allowance, transport vouchers and accident insurance. At least five private companies have already shown interest in participating in the program.
“We want to break the stigma that still exists in relation to hiring a re-educator. Work is one of the main pillars in resocialization. The numbers show that, of those re-educated who are inserted into the job market, recidivism is less than 5%”, points out the executive director. Currently, around 200 re-educated students of the total contracted work in the private network. The rest are located in public bodies and the third sector.
Those re-educated serve sentences in the semi-open regime with authorization for external work and in the open regime. In return, they receive a resocialization grant of 3/4 or more of the minimum wage, transportation assistance and meal assistance. Those who are in semi-open status have their sentences remitted, that is, for every three days worked, one day is deducted from the total sentence they must serve.
Take new flights
The re-educated Pedro Almeida (fictitious name), 40 years old, found at Funap a chance for a fresh start. Since August 2022, he has worked with managing the queue of interested parties for job vacancies, helping to organize demand and search. A biologist by training and resident of Taguatinga, Pedro relates the return to life in society with the development of a bird.
“It’s as if we were a little bird that broke its wing and is injured, but wants to fly again. Funap helps in this process, it helps the re-educated person to integrate into society, re-socialize and learn the correct values”, points out Pedro, who highlights the importance of self-responsibility. “When you are arrested, you come back without confidence, dying, down. Funap gives you back your dignity, makes you feel useful, makes you feel like you have value, which is very important. Funap gives the opportunity, but whether the person takes it or not is up to them”, he adds.
Re-educated Maria Santana (fictitious name), 40, tried other paths before looking for Funap. “Even though I found out about the foundation within the (prison) system, it took me about three months out here to look for a job through it. I looked in other places, but when it came time to issue the document, nothing appeared, it didn’t work. Not here, as soon as I arrived, I already knew I was going to work,” she says. In April, she began her journey as an assistant in the management of Funap contracts, with the role of helping to organize female demand for job vacancies.
The opportunity for resocialization opened new horizons for Maria, who intends to return to working in the training area. Before being detained, she was a people management analyst in public bodies. “The foundation came to me as an opening of doors. When you leave the system, you are completely lost, not knowing where you are going to work, what you are going to do with your life,” she shares. “The foundation is fully structured, from support within the system to outside, it does all the screening, welcomes you, welcomes you, guides you on what you should do to resocialize. Today my work is valued equally, it is recognized, I am held accountable, and that is why I try to do my best.”
An example of the effectiveness of resocialization is businessman Rafael do Nascimento da Silva, 38. In 2018, when he was detained, he met Funap and started working internally as a cook. When he left prison, he was hired in the maintenance and janitorial area, where he worked until 2021. He currently manages a construction company, focused ondrywallwhich hires six former students, including painters, electricians and other specialties.
“The experience at Funap helped me get back on my feet,” he says, defining the organization as hope. “Many people in prison keep talking about things that are not appropriate and end up getting together to do something that is not good. So, from the moment you start teaching them that they have a chance at work and in society, their thinking changes.”
With information from Agência Brasília
The post Number of re-educated students entering the job market has tripled since 2019 appeared first in Jornal de Brasília.
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