The Joint Social Welfare Institute ( es, Instituto Mixto de Ayuda Social) (IMAS) is an autonomous institution with legal status in

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

for

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

. It was created under Act 4760 of April 30, 1971, which put it into operation from May 8 of that year. Its purpose is to serve the population suffering poverty in Costa Rica through the provision of grants and programs. The institute uses the Social Information Sheet (Ficha de Información Social) (FIS) to conduct research and evaluate the population living in poverty. The FIS contains a set of fifty-six variables grouped into 10 sections.

Notable people

Silvia Lara Povedano Silvia Lara Povedano (1959) is a Costa Rican politician and sociologist. She was president of the Joint Social Welfare Institute (Instituto Mixto de Ayuda Social) (IMAS) during the administration of Abel Pacheco ( PUSC) and vice-presidential ca ...

(born 1959), president of the IMAS during the administration of Abel Pacheco

External links

* Institutions of Costa Rica Law of Costa Rica {{CostaRica-gov-stub