A discourse and practice gap in working with youth-at-disadvantage in the outreach social work service in Hong Kong

► This study is conceptualized with Foucault's discourse analytic approach. ► Outreach youth workers are conscious of the broader social impacts on young people. ► Their discourses are often subjugated in policy demands and agency orientations. ► What they can do remains at regulating young people's problem behavior. ► A discourse and practice gap exists eventually in their everyday practices.