There is a mounting concern in the United States (US) that youth imprisonment is harmful for children and that institutions should be entirely dismantled. At the same time, there is a push to broaden the scope of juvenile institutions to include emerging adults. Due to these paradoxical arguments, it is important to consider if juvenile justice institutions are needed, and, if so, what societal purpose they can serve. In this chapter, the authors presents two different case studies of youth justice in the cases of Finland and Argentina. Drawing on stakeholder interviews and archival documents, we critically examine arguments concerning the expansion and retraction of the retract the scope of youth justice and imprisonment systems in the current era of reform.