Court orders Arujá to regularize mental health care for children and adolescents

Arujá City Hall is the target of a court decision Reproduction / Arujá City Hall The 2nd Court of Arujá ordered the city's City Hall to regularize mental health care for children and adolescents in the municipality. According to the decision, more than 500 young people are waiting for psychological or psychiatric care in the municipal network. According to the São Paulo Court of Justice (TJ-SP), the decision was motivated by flaws and omissions in the provision of mental health services in the city over more than ten years. ? Click to follow the g1 Mogi das Cruzes e Suzano channel on WhatsApp In a statement, Arujá City Hall reported that assistance to the children and adolescents mentioned in the action was never interrupted. The municipality also reported that it asked the TJ-SP to review the court decision. The municipal administration also stated that revenue could be higher if tax enforcement processes to collect taxes, which have been stopped in the Judiciary since 2019, were progressed (check the full note below). g1 and TV Diário requested a position from TJ-SP and the Public Ministry, but did not receive a response until the last update of this report. Among the problems highlighted by the Court are: Lack of mental health care for adolescents who comply with socio-educational measures; Non-compliance with the regional psychosocial care plan; Lack of monitoring and budget forecast for the implementation of the Psychosocial Care Center (CAPS) units; Waiting list of more than 500 children and adolescents for psychological or psychiatric care, according to a report from March 2026. SEE MORE

In the decision, judge Igor Ferreira dos Santos stated that delays in care could cause permanent damage to the development of children and adolescents. "The damage caused by the lack of timely mental health treatment in childhood and adolescence is of a unique nature, as it accumulates silently, is not susceptible to retroactive repair, and often determines entire life trajectories" The decision also defined deadlines for the municipality to reorganize the service network and implement new mental health units. Within 60 days, the City Hall must guarantee that children and adolescents referred to the municipal network receive specialized care. To do this, you will have to create a protocol with concrete measures to meet the deadline. Within 180 days, the municipality must present a detailed plan, with a physical-financial schedule, to implement the units of the Psychosocial Care Center for Children and Youth (CAPS i) and the Psychosocial Care Center for Alcohol and Drugs (CAPS AD). If you fail to comply with any of the determinations, the City Hall may pay a daily fine of R$5,000. What the City of Arujá says In a note to g1 and TV Diário, the City of Arujá reported: "The City of Arujá informs that it receives the judicial decision with surprise and a certain degree of perplexity, since the care provided to the people referred to in it has never ceased to be provided and has never been interrupted. Patients are regularly attended to by the municipal network, however, in other public facilities (NASF, CAPs, etc.), without any discontinuity of services. Psychosocial Care for Children and Adolescents (CAPS i) is in the process of implementing and adapting the location where it will be installed, in relation to the Psychosocial Care Center for Alcohol and Drugs (CAPS ad), the administration is preparing the implementation plan for its own location. paralyzed for years in the Judiciary, with processes filed to receive taxes that have been paralyzed since 2019. There are millions of reais that could be reverted to benefit the population, invested precisely in areas such as health, education and social assistance. Finally, it was recommended that the Municipal Attorney's Office review the judicial decision, in order to file any appropriate appeals." Watch more news about Alto Tietê

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