Intervención de la infancia: ？se ha transformado la esencia de la asistencia?

the organizing axis of this article is a reflection around the assistance-oriented outlook as basis for social intervention by different agents. this reflection centers on the historical evolution of assistance up to the present, emphasizing the development of assistance establishments that direct attention to children. through the case analysis of one of such establishments, a combination of orphanage-child detention center, this article shows the way in which institutional practices maintain the principles of assistance policy, guiding the work of the institution from a controversial standpoint.