Children and youth occupy important social and political roles, even as they sleep in their cribs or hang out on street corners. Conceptualized as either harbingers or saboteurs of a bright, secure tomorrow, young people have motivated many adult-driven plans to improve their communities’ future. But have all children benefited from these programs and initiatives? Lost Kids brings together a distinguished group of scholars who explore the under-representation, demonization, and inadequate care of vulnerable children. Drawing on feminist, postmodern, and postcolonial theories, they address three determining factors: the role of the state, the shifting context of the family, and the evolution of child protection and juvenile justice. From examinations of interracial adoption and the treatment of children with disabilities to the deregulation of child labour laws and the social construction of the "“hopeless child,” this multifaceted collection illuminates the diversity of disadvantaged childhoods and rejects the essentialism of the so-called priceless child or hopeless youth. Lost Kids provides the social context and historical background necessary to understand the experiences of vulnerable children who frequent the news.