Professional intervention in social services linked to childhood in Chile: Tensions in the implementation of the social policy

Abstract

This article examines from a critical perspective the implementation of social policy in Chile in the areas of children and child sexual abuse, exploring the tensions emerging in the construction of the intervention in the professional devices involved in social mediation. The thesis sustained is based on the fact that there is an articulation of the social policy from a descending / ascending linear logic, which generates fragmentation and difficulties in promoting an active partenership among the various actors involved in the discussion-design-implementation-evaluation of social intervention process. At the same time, these difficulties weakens the professional teams abilities to translate the principles of the Convention of Childhood Rights into clear guidelines to collect the codes and meanings to enhance their impact on everyday life. The main contribution of this paper is to promote discussion around these issues in order to visualize its impact on the consistency of services delivered.