Social capital and the access to social protection

This article analyzes the importance of the Reference Center for Social Assistance Centro de Referencia de Assistencia Social (CRAS) - on the social capital of the attended families. Proposes to investigate whether CRAS would be significant attended families' access to public services. The qualitative-quantitative method based on linear regression (secondary datas) and semi-structured interviews (primary datas) was applied. The following question oriented the investigation: could be CRAS able to reforce the social capital of the user families? The perception of the interviewees reveals how CRAS disseminates information to which the families in situation of vulnerability cannot access through their social relations, such as information about job, courses, medical care, etc. In a context where there is a lack of social capital and lack of knowledge about public policies, the CRAS contributes to circulate information and acts as a mediator between the attended families and public services that can make your live better.