The book provides a socio-historical and theoretical-scientific contextualisation of the origin of the family, from its constitution in the primitive era to its main changes in contemporary times, with the aim of provoking reflection on the fact that there is no concept of the ideal family. It looks at the genesis of care for abandoned children since the High Middle Ages in Portugal, in order to understand the culture of institutionalisation of children and adolescents in Brazil. The main advances in relation to the family and children and adolescents after the Democratic Rule of Law was achieved with the 1988 Constitution, the Statute of the Child and Adolescent, the Organic Law on Social Assistance and the New Adoption Law of 2009. In addition to pointing out the main challenges in realising the right to family and community life. Finally, the process of family reintegration for children and adolescents in institutional care is contextualised, using legal apparatuses that guide this process, as well as theoretical references with a critical bias. The authors also put forward proposals for tackling this challenge, which is complex but possible.