ABSTRACT
This work is designed to present a word picture of the child welfare system that accurately depicts important aspects of the system’s role within American society and culture. It uses a combination of interpretive and critical perspectives in depicting child welfare. It describes practice as tension laden, a characteristic of the critical perspective (White, 1986). It is interpretive because it involves deconstructing and analyzing aspects of the child welfare system with a goal of identifying underlying issues and patterns. This is what Dean and Fenby (1989) describe as interpretive. The most basic tension inherent in the child welfare system is that of the individual qua individual versus the administrative, statistical, or collective social world. In addition, a number of other points of tension arise due to conflicting values, program objectives, and goals, etc. Interpretation provides us with an understanding of the underlying effects of programs and policies in child welfare.
