Book excerpt: Policies to assist or protect vulnerable youth play a crucial role in welfare and criminal justice processes, but what role does the discourse surrounding these policies play in how they are put into action? Bringing together real-life examples with academic and practical applications, this book explores the implications of a "vulnerability zeitgeist" in policy and practice. It draws on in-depth research with marginalized young people and the professionals who support them to question whether the rise of the concept of vulnerability serves the interests of those who are most disadvantaged. Vulnerability and Young People will be important reading for scholars, students, and policy makers interested in the care and protection of young people.