Documenta Rio trains teams to expand access to civil documentation for vulnerable people.

Professionals from the Municipal Department of Social Assistance participate in workshops about the program. Photo: Press Release/SMAS

Professionals from the Municipal Secretariat of Social Assistance (SMAS) are participating in training sessions on the Documenta Rio program, which promotes access to civil documentation for people in situations of social vulnerability or rights violations. The workshops began on July 14th and will continue until August 20th, with one event held in each of the city's ten Social Assistance Coordination offices (CAS). This Tuesday, August 4th, it was the turn of the 8th CAS, and the meeting took place at the Nave do Conhecimento in the Parque Jornalista Susana Naspolini, in Realengo, West Zone of Rio.

Workshops are necessary so that professionals working in SMAS units can correctly guide the public on how to obtain their documents. Lack of information is often one of the main reasons that prevent access to documentation and, consequently, to social rights.

Rio for citizen visibility

At SMAS, promoting access to civil documentation falls under the responsibility of the Integrated Actions Management (GAI) of the Special Actions Coordination (CAE), which is part of the Sub-Secretariat for Basic Social Protection. This work is carried out through two strategies. One is the coordination of the Municipal Committee for Policies to Promote Civil Documentation (Comdoc-Rio). The other refers to the implementation of the Documenta Rio Program, created in 2021 to expand access to basic documentation, such as birth certificates, identity cards, and CPF (Brazilian taxpayer identification number), for vulnerable populations.

In March of this year, SMAS launched the permanent campaign "Rio for Citizen Visibility: every document matters!", an action to give visibility to the topic of civil documentation and contribute to the promotion of civil birth registration as an action to protect childhood and adolescence.

https://assistenciasocial.prefeitura.rio/noticias/documenta-rio-smas-e-entidades-parceiras-lancam-campanha-permanente-de-documentacao-civil/ ]

Locating missing persons

In 2026, the training programs will include the participation of the State Secretariat for Social Development and Human Rights (SEDSDH), through the Superintendency for Prevention and Confrontation of Missing Persons and Expansion of Access to Basic Documentation. This partnership allows for the gathering of information about the work in support of the Missing Persons Location Policy.

The next workshop sessions will be held on August 11th, 18th, and 20th, for professionals from the 9th, 10th, and 1st CAS, respectively. The other sessions have already taken place. See the calendar for upcoming meetings:

9th CAS: 11/08, 9:30 AM. Location: Unigama (Rua Campo Grande, 1508, Campo Grande).
10th CAS: August 18th, 9:30 AM. Location: Faetec Auditorium (Largo do Bodegão, 46, Santa Cruz).
1st CAS: August 20th, 2 PM. Location: CIEE (Community Center), at Rua Teófilo Otoni, 123, Centro.