Technology created in partnership between University, the Judiciary and DA's Office celebrates first anniversary
The app Adoção (Adoption), developed by PUCRS in partnership with the Judiciary and DA’s Office, celebrates its first anniversary in August with over 5,000 active downloads. The app was designed by faculty of the Apple Developer Academy and developed by School of Technology’s Software Engineering students to ensure that children and adolescents living in foster homes could find a permanent home and the have the affection of those who wanted to become moms and dads. The technological tool humanizes the search and brings together adoptive parents and children. Then, it makes it possible for them to start a new family.
The app is part of the campaign Deixa o amor te surpreender (Let the love surprise you), which, since 2016, has earned visibility to the issue of adoption. The idea is to get qualified parents to find out more about different types of kids for adoption – from zero to three years. As it shows images and testimonials, photos, letters and drawings, the app gave face and emotion to children and adolescents who are registered at the National Adoption Registry (CNA). The only thing prospective parents knew about them was their initials. names, age, health conditions and siblings (if any). The app had the mission to make it easier for parents to adopt kids that are not usually in the target group for adoption (children aged 7+, adolescents, sibling groups and kids with disabilities). It gives parents the chance to be more flexible in selecting the profile of their future kid in terms of age, as the average age has increased from 8 to 13.
The very first kid that was adopted by parents who were users of the app was in 2019. In 2017, 311 young people were adopted in Rio Grande do Sul and the number increased to 425 the following year. By the first half of 2019, another 228 kids joined new families.
The Court of Justice of Rio Grande do Sul’s Office of Information and Communication Technology was responsible for implementing the software. The tool is available all over the country for Android and iOS systems.