A study examined what counts as success in literacy and numeracy programs for youth at risk in Victoria. It explored the relationship between discourses around best practice in government reports and through examining academic writings, surveying providers and policymakers, and speaking with practitioners and participants. Main findings indicated success was grounded in a number of elements interacting inside and outside the literacy/numeracy classroom and showed that literacies and numeracies were embedded in the selection of successful programs; curriculum allowing for multiple pathways and flexibility in programs underpinned success for marginalized young people; programs used a range of activities to meet learners' needs; bold and innovative approaches grounded in current Australian and international brain research, and complementary and psycho-dynamic therapies were used in some literacy and numeracy programs; the Victorian transition system, along with its other counterparts in Australia, was among the most porous in the industrialized world, with government estimates under-representing the problem of young people under 18 years of age not in education, training, or employment; and though in its infancy, the recent government initiative to support young people in their choice of courses, the Managed Individual Pathways, was welcomed. (Appendixes include 86 references, instruments and protocols, and various indicators of good practice.) (YLB)