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The existing empirical research is insufficient to explain the variation in bureaucratic and managerial capacity at the local level and its consequences for the implementation of social policies. This article analyzes the perception of technicians and municipal managers of social assistance regarding the problematic factors in the implementation of the policy. The research design uses grounded theory to generate knowledge about the field, as well as a survey, in an attempt to analyze how representative the qualitative findings are of the whole. The results show the centrality of budgetary constraints in policy implementation, but put at the center of the discussion technical and administrative factors such as the major stumbling blocks in managing social assistance policy at the local level. The results also suggest the use of informal strategies for solving problems of this nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]