Children and youth occupy important social and political roles, even as they sleep in 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 explores the under-representation, demonization, and inadequate care of vulnerable children and connects them to three key determining factors: the role of the state, the shifting context of the family, and the evolution of child protection and juvenile justice. By illuminating the diversity of disadvantaged childhoods, this multifaceted collection rejects the essentialism of the so-called priceless child or hopeless youth.

Lost Kids sheds new light on the experiences of vulnerable children in Canada and the United States.