Protection of children and adolescents victims of violence: the views of the professionals of a specialized service.

Objectives: To know the obstacles faced by the professionals to work in network and challenges of the work of the professionals in the Reference Center Specialized in Social Assistance (CREAS) of a municipality in the extreme south of Brazil.

Methods: It is a qualitative study, developed with twelve professionals of a CREAS. Data collection was performed through a semi-structured interview, from April to May 2016. The interviews were submitted to content analysis.

Results: The fragmentation among the various services that make up the victim assistance network is an obstacle for professionals as they are unable to continue the recovery and health promotion actions of these families. The professionals point out the bureaucratic procedures, the accumulation of functions and the lack of human and financial resources as a routine problem and that seriously hinders the progress of the service.

Conclusions: For the professionals, the protection network presents weaknesses that compromise the guarantee of the rights of children and adolescents.