Salvador, S., Rios, V & Alesina, L. (2025) Personal Assistants Program in Uruguay: A Bet on Gender Equality? [Policy Brief] Project Initiatives to Strengthen Care Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This document aims to present the main results as guidance for public policy from the study “Personal Assistants Program in Uruguay: a bet on gender equality?” carried out by the Interdisciplinary Center for Development Studies, Uruguay (CIEDUR) in coordination with the Care Directorate of the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES) between August 2023 and November 2024.

The Personal Assistants Program was one of the first services to be regulated within the framework of the creation of the National Integrated Care System in November 2015. Through Decree No. 117.016 of 2016, a subsidy was established for hiring personal assistants (PAs) for home care for people with severe dependency (under 30 or over 80 years old). Originally, the service was provided individually, where the beneficiary selected a personal assistant (PA) from a list of trained people. Based on evaluations carried out by the Directorate of Evaluation and Monitoring of MIDES together with recommendations from the Advisory Care Committee and the Pro Care Network, a pilot experience of the program was launched in 2022 in a collective format through cooperatives.