The present work seeks to contribute to studies of cross-cultural risk and resiliency by presenting results from qualitative research with adolescents attending programs for at-risk youth in Juiz de Fora, Brazil. In 1990, Brazil introduced the Child and Adolescent Act (ECA), a significant piece of legislation that has had a direct impact on how at-risk youth are conceptualized both nationally and locally, through programs that target them. Little, however, is known about how youth in Brazil understand risk behaviors, what factors they believe contribute to risk taking or what they believe promotes resiliency. Furthermore, virtually no qualitative information exists on adolescents who are engaged in programs that use ECA as a prioritizing principle. By examining adolescent perspectives on risk and resiliency in such a context, we highlight the cultural differences in how youth negotiate their daily lives and the implications that continued exclusion of youth has on Brazilian society.