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Based on Municipal Law 13.183 of April 11, 2025, Sorocaba Creates the Social Voucher Aid, Pays Minimum Wage for Caregiver for Two Years Without Formal Income, Focuses on Vulnerable Families, Prioritizes Home Care, and Replaces the Need for Institutionalization for the Elderly and People with Disabilities.
Announced on June 24, 2025, in Sorocaba, the Social Voucher Aid formalizes the payment of minimum wage for caregivers who dedicate themselves fully to elderly individuals or people with disabilities in a state of dependency, following guidelines defined by Municipal Law 13.183, sanctioned on April 11, 2025.
Targeted at legal guardians without paid employment for at least two years and registered in the social assistance network, the benefit aims to maintain care within the home, alleviate the budget of vulnerable families, and prevent elderly individuals and people with disabilities from being referred to long-term placements due to lack of income.
How the Social Voucher Aid Works in Sorocaba
The Social Voucher Aid will be paid by the City Hall of Sorocaba, through the Department of Citizenship, in the amount of one minimum wage per month, directly to the caregiver who supports an elderly person or a person with a disability in a state of dependency.
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The program design starts from the premise that the caregiver has no own income to fully assume the care routine.
Therefore, the benefit is intended for legal guardians who have not engaged in paid activity for at least two years and are in a situation of proven social vulnerability.
The law provides for an initial duration of 12 months, with the possibility of extension for equal and successive periods, depending on the family situation and the municipality’s budget availability.
Each caregiver may receive only one benefit, even if there are two or more dependents in the same household, which limits the multiplication of aids per domicile and focuses the policy on supporting the family care structure.
In practice, the city hall seeks to align the program with recommendations from the National Justice Council, prioritizing that the elderly person be cared for in their own home, with minimum financial support, instead of being institutionalized due to income fragility.
Who is Eligible for Minimum Wage for Caregivers
The target audience of the Social Voucher Aid is caregivers of elderly persons or those with disabilities in a state of dependency who require regular help with essential tasks.
The municipal law establishes that the benefit applies to cases where the dependent needs assistance from three daily care activities, such as feeding, mobility, and hygiene, up to total dependency situations.
Only the legal guardians who:
• have resided in Sorocaba for at least two years, together with the elderly person or the person with a disability
• have not engaged in any paid activity for at least two years
• are in a situation of social vulnerability, according to the assessment of the social assistance network
• are relatives with consanguinity ties up to the third degree or third parties with formal guardianship
The requirement for a legal or consanguineous bond aims to reduce the risk of misuse of the benefit by individuals who are not part of the real care network for that elderly person or that individual with a disability.
The program also considers the clinical condition, which must be certified by healthcare professionals and proved by a specific medical report.
Required Documents and Dependency Assessment
To access the Social Voucher Aid, the caregiver must present a wide range of documents, which will allow the city hall to verify the condition of vulnerability, the bond with the dependent, and the degree of dependency. Among the requirements are:
• proof of residency of the elderly person or the person with a disability in Sorocaba for two years
• copy of the ID and CPF of the caregiver and the elderly person or the person with a disability
• income verification for the caregiver and the dependent, when applicable
• proof of kinship up to the third degree or guardianship, in the case of third parties without consanguineous ties
• Summary Sheet of the Unified Registry of the caregiver, updated no more than 90 days
• declaration from the caregiver that they do not perform paid activities
• copy of the caregiver’s bank card, identifying the bank, agency, type, and number of the account, keeping sensitive data concealed
• evaluation of the degree of dependency of the elderly person or the person with a disability, signed by healthcare professionals
• medical report of the person with permanent physical disability, with CID and description of care needs
This set of documents allows for information cross-checking with the Unified Registry and the health network, reducing the potential for fraud and ensuring that the minimum wage for caregivers reaches those who truly dedicate time to assist the dependent.
Where to Apply for the Social Voucher Aid and How the Service Works
Scheduling for service and screening is done directly at the social assistance network units of the municipality. Interested caregivers must seek:
• a Social Assistance Reference Center (Cras)
• a Specialized Social Assistance Reference Center (Creas)
• or the Elderly Person Reference Center (CRI) closest to their residence
At these locations, technical teams guide on the criteria of Municipal Law 13.183, verify documentation, register the case, and refer it for dependency assessment and socioeconomic analysis.
After verifying the requirements, the applicant fills out the application form for the Social Voucher Aid, providing personal data, dependent information, family composition, and income situation.
Only after validating all documents and medical reports is the benefit granted and the payment of the minimum wage for caregivers begins to be credited to the specified account.
Support Structure and Official Information Channels
The Department of Citizenship is the responsible body for managing the Social Voucher Aid in Sorocaba.
In-person service operates at 116 Santa Cruz Street, central region of the city, from Monday to Friday, from 8 AM to 5 PM.
In addition to service at Cras, Creas, and CRI, specific questions about eligibility, missing documents, or process status can be answered by phone at (15) 3212-6900 or by official email assistenciasocial@sorocaba.sp.gov.br.
The city hall’s guidance is for caregivers to keep the Unified Registry always updated and to keep copies of medical reports and dependency assessments, as these documents will be reanalyzed in any renewals.
As the initial duration is for 12 months, those who continue to meet the criteria may apply for extensions, always subject to technical evaluation and budget availability.
In a scenario of accelerating population aging and increasing demand for long-term care, the Social Voucher Aid is part of the attempt to financially recognize the work of family caregivers, even if at a value limited to the minimum wage, as a way to prevent abrupt income disruptions and forced institutionalizations for economic reasons.
In your opinion, programs that pay minimum wage for caregivers should be expanded nationwide or focused only on municipalities that can prove greater social vulnerability in caregiver families?
Parabéns aos governantes desta cidade pela iniciativa.
Vale muito pq as vezes abrimos mão de nosso trabalho para cuidar zelosamente quem tanto nos cuidou com amor e dedicação