Parte I: The Problem and Our Premises.- Child placement in perspective.- Parte II: Guidelines and Their Implications for the Laws of Child Placement.- On continuity, a child’s sense of time, and the limits of both law and prediction.- On the least detrimental alternative.- On party status and the right to representation.- Parte III: The Guidelines Applied.- The Rothman decisions.- Provisions for a child placement statute.- Parte IV: Examining Our Premises.- Why should the child’s interests be paramount?.- Further observations on the application of the least detrimental alternative standard.- Epílogo: Further observations on the application