For this institutional ethnography of the child welfare system in the US, Moore and Gagné studied case files, conducted extensive participant observation, and interviewed 83 participants in the child welfare system in Kentucky, including frontline child welfare workers and system clients. What emerged was a highly bureaucratic system in which what was printed in the case files, sometimes from years past, took on a life of its own, at times in complete disregard of the families affected. As the authors make clear, this stems from the patriarchal mentality that guides the system and encourages efficiency. Throughout the text are sad and frustrating stories of the social workers and families caught in this flawed system. A meticulous review of the case files reveals how, in story after story, children are rarely returned to their families after being removed. The first two chapters offer an excellent history of the US child welfare system, beginning in the colonial era when poor children were sent to live in workhouses or auctioned off to other families for their labor. Poor families were considered lazy and immoral, a legacy the authors document to the present. This is an excellent exploration of the barriers to family reunification. Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals.

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