The Brazilian Child and Adolescent Statute (CAS) has generated an increase in the number of programs assisting the referred population, but there have not been changes in terms of approach. The objective of this study was to understand the perceptions of workers in institutions providing adolescent care, the difficulties they face and methods of overcoming them. The study was performed in São Carlos, Brazil. Data was collected at institutions providing adolescent care, by means of documents and performing interviews. The documents were analyzed based on the Bourdieu framework. Results showed that the institutions perceive adolescence and adolescents apart from their sociality and historicity and focus attention on problematic adolescents, and not as subjects with rights. A more radical change in these adolescents' view would enable the construction of new work process instruments capable of assisting them as a whole.
Adolescent; Public policies; Adolescent health services; Public health