This paper analyzes various institutional responses to homelessness among children and youth as a means of better understanding the workings of the neo-liberal state, both in the developing and the developed world. This is a fruitful exercise because the culture of the street is unique and is difficult to reconcile with the predominant values of state-sponsored institutions. In making this argument, the American and Brazilian cases are specifically discussed, as they are seen as representative of neo-liberalism in the developed and developing world. Although each case includes significant differences, a major contradiction of neo-liberalism, with particular reference to its promotion of symbolic political and social inclusivity, while simultaneously relying upon coercive and exclusionary institutional practice, is highlighted.