After describing the background of the Juvenile Courts in Brazil, Diff erent perspectives on the institutional care of juvenile delinquents in Brazil aims to demonstrate the sociodemographic profi les and lives led by youths subjected to social education measures. Firstly, the judicial procedure as prescribed by law must be exposed and discussed, and compared to how it is put into practice by the judges. Then, three important aspects are examined: the tensions between control and promoting autonomy, the fl ow of social education measures in Brazil, and the management of endemic violence in Brazil by the institutions responsible for juvenile delinquents.