The Auditor General of the City of Buenos Aires (AGCBA, for its acronym in Spanish) analyzed the implementation of the Strengthening Links Program under the aegis of the Department of Children and Adolescents (DGNyA, for its acronym in Spanish), created to intervene in cases of exclusion and risk situations within the family and community, and in enhancing the possibilities for change in the issues in the City of Buenos Aires.

The program has different tasks organized into specific sub-activities. One of these is the Assistance to Victims of Sexual Exploitation. The coordinator of this area said that “the staff is insufficient in terms of number of professionals to meet the demand and scope of interventions”. She also stated that there is only one lawyer in the team, and who “doesn’t sponsor cases”. Therefore, there is a need for a professional who can directly asses as needed, so as to not depend exclusively on the Bar council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CDNNyA).

Within the same sub-activity, the coordinator of Exit Strategies informed the auditors that in spite of the excellent performance of the staff, there is a lot of “change/rotation” coming from them, due to “job insecurity and low wages”. In this area, which promotes social educational and employment inclusion for the youth population through training courses and internships, “only seven professionals worked in 2010”.

Due to all this, the General Auditor of the City of Buenos Aires (AGCBA) proposed the need to reinforce human resources in these activities, for example, for the Adolescent workshops in Bajo Flores, where a social worker and psychologist are needed. He also stated that “there had not been a formal designation of the Coordinator of Subactivity, despite the fact that (until the time of the audit) she had assumed that position for seven years.


Technological Resources

In one of the sub-activities, it was observed that there was "a lack of phone lines, handys, printers, and fax machines necessary for the fulfillment of the tasks". In another, they found that "the technological resources are insufficient for learning, such as computers and printers." Similarly, the Workshops for Teens in Bajo Flores "do not have Internet connectivity, although this is essential for computer workshops."

Zonal Teams Lugano-Villa 20, Villa 15-Mataderos-Liniers-Ciudad Oculta; Bajo Flores - Villa 1 11, 14, "do not have their own phone line (nor do they have internet access), computers, or printers," states the report.

Physical Resources

In regards to the building situation, the Auditor General of the City of Buenos Aires noted that in the activity of Assistance to the Victims of Sexual Exploitation, “the office at the headquarters of 1.281 Calle Piedras, is not suitable for the development of tasks due to the lack of divided working spaces. There are 16 workers in the same place, without the privacy that they are entitled to”.

The headquarters of one of the sub-activities “does not provide privacy when interviewing beneficiary teens. In another, precarious installations and services (gas, electricity, and internet) were noted, making the workshop tasks more difficult.

In activity Nº 13, Zonal teams for family strengthening “can’t lock their doors, which results in inadequate safety regarding the documentation (bundles)”. This is a very small and shared physical space, not appropriate for the activities.

The watchdog concluded their report noting that “it is a great achievement for the teams to have created an environment of trust and respect with the families, which allows the approach and strengthening of ties and links in the employment inclusion for teens in situations of social vulnerability”, yet all of this is affected due to “not having sufficient physical, material, structural and economic resources for an adequate development and fulfillment of their goals”.