Reconceptualisation and Transnational Translation in Latin American Social Work: Working Children’s Movements and Community-Based Drug Responses

Abstract

International social work values both participation and contextual adaptation, yet neither principle explains who can change the norms and organisational conditions governing an intervention. This article develops a conceptual comparison of working children’s movements and community-based drug responses in Latin America. A selective synthesis uses the contested legacy of reconceptualisation as an analytical resource, without assuming direct historical descent. Four dimensions organise the comparison: structural interpretation, participation and collective agency, critical translation, and power-sensitive transnationalism. Working children’s movements contest how protection and participation are interpreted and who may represent children’s interests. Harm-reduction and ECO2-informed initiatives negotiate access to care and the organisational legitimacy of practices within legal, professional and funding constraints. The comparison distinguishes influence over the definition of a problem from influence over the conditions under which support is delivered. It also shows why neither movement representation nor peer involvement can stand alone as evidence of shared decision-making. Five orienting principles connect contextual understanding and social rights with attention to professional mediation, accountability and unequal resources. The contribution is a comparative account of where participatory authority is exercised and constrained, rather than a general model of Latin American social work.