Despite Mexico's long history of efforts to combat child labor, there remained a need for the Mexican Secretary of Labor and Social Security (STPS) to establish a formal training program for public officials, as well as stronger mechanisms to detect and address the issue. At the same time, although an institutional framework existed, it did not include effective collaboration between authorities and civil society, which continued to operate in parallel agendas around the same issue. 

This changed when the STPS recognized the value of the work of Save the Children Mexico (SCMx) and invited the organization to join the Inter-secretarial Commission for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor and Protection of Adolescent Workers of Legal Age in Mexico (CITI). The recommendations and tools developed by the Save the Children significantly strengthened the capacities of federal and state agencies and were incorporated into the CITI 2022-2024 Operational Plan, proof of the positive impact of collaboration between civil society and the public sector. 

Fundación Avina provided strategic financing for advocacy efforts led by civil society through the Arropa initiative and facilitated connections with organizations focused on the issue of decent work in the garment industry in Mexico. This helped nurture relationships between strategic allies, strengthen their capacities, and, crucially, bring together agendas that have historically operated separately—such as child labor, which is often relegated to spaces focused exclusively on children and adolescents. 

 As the primary space for government coordination around child labor, the CITI is charged with promoting inter-secretarial action, overseeing long-term interventions, providing input on relevant regulations, and developing tools to protect children and adolescents. Save the Children contributed to this work, including updating the "Protocolo de inspección para prevenir y erradicar el trabajo infantil y proteger el trabajo adolescente en edad permitida" ("Inspection protocol to prevent and eradicate child labor and protect adolescent workers of legal age"), developing the handbooks "Tus derechos laborales" ("Your labor rights") and "Guía para empleadores" ("Guide for employers"), and providing training to 387 civil servants in charge of labor inspections. 

These advances translated into concrete tools to prevent, detect, and address child labor—a problem that currently affects 3.7 million children and adolescents. 

To ensure the longevity of this strategy and strengthen collaboration with the public sector, Save the Children signed an agreement with the STPS to help make capacity building for federal and state authorities more robust. This led to collaboration with government agencies in the states of Aguascalientes, Mexico City, Querétaro, Tlaxcala, Jalisco, Quintana Roo, and Campeche. Furthermore, the voices of children and adolescents are now being included to ensure that these initiatives met their needs, especially in sensitive aspects like identifying child labor.