◎ contents 1. Introduction : the limits of welfare-justice 1. child ewlfare in law 2. the welfare-justice clash 3. policies for reform 4. fundamental flaws 2. Law as a self-referntial system 1. constructing the truth 2. how the law thinks 3. the nature of legal discourse 4. the epistemic trap 5. escape routs from the epistemic trap 6. the pure and the impure 7. testing teubner's model 3. The construction of child welfare science 1. child welfare as science 2. the intergration of law and child ewlfare 3. law and the 'welfare expert' 4. The rights of children and parents 5. fiting science into law 4. The child as a scientific artifact 5. The construction of conflict and conciliation in divorce 6. The child as offender 7. The law's response and the responsiveness of law 8. Child-responsive legal system