Within the reform framework of a flexible, integrated, and community-oriented youth welfare system, cooperative forms of governance are described as more effective alternatives to market and bureaucracy. Nevertheless, the question arises as to how the programmatic core of cooperative governance is realized in the practical actions of professionals. Based on a case study of so-called social space teams in two municipalities, an empirically grounded approach to this specific form of governance is undertaken. It becomes clear how professionals actively shape their practice under given conditions and how governance intentions can both break and be realized through an interactively established practice.