State celebrates unprecedented partnership with UFPA for the training of social workers in the Metropolitan Region of Belém
Through an integrated action of Seap and Seplad, ten female students of Social Work from the largest higher education institution in the northern region will work in prison units in Pará
The State Secretariat of Penitentiary Administration (Seap) has initiated an unprecedented partnership with the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) for the insertion of Social Work students in Pará's prison units. In total, ten female students will intern in units such as the Women's Custody and Reintegration Unit of Ananindeua (UCRF), the Custody and Reintegration Unit of Santa Izabel VI (UCR), the Custody and Reintegration Unit of Ananindeua (UCR), and the Custody and Reintegration Unit of Coqueiro (UCR).
The interns were selected by UFPA faculty based on their academic interest in public safety and human rights themes. The field supervisors were chosen by Seap itself, considering their experience and ability to guide the students in practical activities. To facilitate transportation to the units, the Planning and Administration Secretariat (Seplad) organized transportation assistance, ensuring conditions for participation in the internship.
According to Michelle Holanda, director of Biopsychosocial Assistance at Seap, this collaboration between the parties represents an important milestone. “Seap is a very fertile ground for any initiative in the area of education and work, especially in reintegration situations. The university's presence within our units will be no different,” she emphasized.
She also reinforces that the experience will impact both the people deprived of liberty (PPLs) and the training of future professionals. “They will learn how to work with people from vulnerable groups, as our PPLs are included in these groups. We have people with limited financial means, without family, LGBT individuals, and the elderly. Therefore, a range of people who need social assistance and the practice of social work in their lives,” she explained.
For UFPA, the project also represents a step forward. Professor Andréia Pontes, coordinator of the internship class, explains that direct contact with the penal system is fundamental in the training of social workers. “For many years, we have had Social Work professionals acting in this field. And it is of great interest for our professional knowledge, as it directly involves social issues related to people in deprivation of liberty. This experience strengthens research, knowledge production, and professional practice in Pará,” she said.
With the entry of the interns, the expectation is that the partnership will strengthen socio-educational work within the units and, at the same time, expand academic learning, placing future social workers in front of real challenges. The experience, according to Seap and UFPA, should serve as a model for new initiatives aimed at bridging the gap between the university and public policies.
Among the selected interns is Miriam Correia, an 8th-semester student at UFPA, who will work at the Custody and Reintegration Unit of Ananindeua. “I am very excited. I believe it will be a very integrative work alongside the supervisors, mainly focusing on human rights, which is our focus and main bias,” she revealed.
Text: Fernanda Ferreira / Intern NCS Seap Pará
