Resumo

Despite the Brazilian legislation establishing the right to affiliation persists a significant social demand that motivated the creation of the Present Father Program, which instrumentalizes the recognition of paternity (NCJ, 2012). The universal nature of the attended individuals of this program allows the participation of those who are currently inside prison facilities reducing the rights denied as consequence of the arrest whose effects extrapolate the sentenced individual, since the children endure multiple effects of the lack of contact with their respective fathers (Boswell, 2002).

Based on the statement that each individual has the right of acknowledgment of paternity and considering the importance of evaluating the public policy instituted by the CNJ, we established the following research question: What influence of the procedures effected in the Present Father Program at the Court of Justice of the state of Goiás have on the fulfillment of the right to paternity for imprisoned persons? Thus, this research considering the influence of imprisoned fathers on the enforcement of the rights of children and teenagers.

The Brazilian legislation has evolved considerably regarding the topic filiation, since 1916, when there was a distinction between children resulting from the marriage and those born from extra-marital relationships, until 1988, when the principle of equality expressively prohibited the discrimination among children (Brazil, 1988). However, some individuals still do not have access to this right, an example is the population imprisoned that has this right hindered, resulting in damage to the father-son relationship and restricting the benefits resulting from the exercise of paternity for both.

This research is a quantitative study with a descriptive design that allows exposing the characteristics of the Present Father Program in the scope of 127 districts that make up the Court of Justice of the state of Goiás. Seeking to investigate the influence of predictive variables on the dependent variable, we applied a model of multiple linear regression based on the method of ordinary least squares and the following tests: residual independence, heteroscedasticity, normality of residuals, absence of multicollinearity.

A multiple linear regression model was used to investigate the influence of factors and procedures on the number of individuals served by the Present Father Program in the Court of Justice of the state of Goiás. More than seventy percent of the variations in indicator of acknowledgment performed are explained by the combined variation of the variables used in the model. The most relevant variable indicates that in the procedure, the person indicated as alleged father is imprisoned, followed by the performance of DNA test to prove the paternity.

The analysis of the several activities conducted during the process regarding the efficiency of the program revealed the importance of the variables indicating that the alleged father is imprisoned and the DNA test performance for proof of paternity. The relation found between these variables expresses that the program has ensured not only the children’s right to paternity, but also the fundamental rights of those individuals who are in prison facilities regarding the dignity of the human person and equality, materialized in the opportunity for them to acknowledge their children.

Boswell, G. (2002). Imprisoned Fathers: The Children’s View. The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(1), 14–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2311.00222 Brazil. Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil, de 05 de outubro de 1988. Brasília, DF: Presidência da República, 1988. Available at: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/constituicaocompilado.htm. Accessed on: 14 May 2021. NCJ. Provision 16. (2012). Available at: https://atos.cnj.jus.br/atos/detalhar/1299. Accessed on: 14 May 2021.