acordo de cooperação

An agreement between the state social security service (ISS) and a private social organisation such as a Misericórdia, an IPSS or a parish centre, under which the state pays towards an agreed number of places in a care home, a nursery, a day centre or a home care service. The money goes to the institution, not to the individual, and is calculated per place per month; the family pays its own share (comparticipação familiar), which depends on its income. A home usually has fewer places covered by the agreement than it has in total: the rest are private, at the full price.