Advocacy — Until They're All Safe
Safe Harbor Advocacy Initiative

We raise our voice
to make change for all.

A national parent-led research and policy initiative examining crisis response, service access, and legal protections for families raising children with severe attachment-related and neurobehavioral disabilities.

What We're Advocating For

Safe Harbor protections for families.

A core focus of this work is the development and advocacy of Safe Harbor protections for families who seek emergency medical or psychiatric care for their child due to imminent danger.

Safe Harbor advocacy aligns existing practices with federal disability and Medicaid law and seeks to prevent foreseeable harm to families and the public.

Families acting in good faith to protect their children should never face retaliation or criminalization for seeking help.

Seeking emergency care is a protective action, not a failure of parenting.

Families acting in good faith should not face retaliation or criminalization.

Disability-related behaviors must not be used to deny access to care.

Crisis response systems must prioritize safety, stabilization, and coordination.

Children with severe neurobehavioral conditions deserve access to medically necessary care.

Purpose of This Initiative

Grounded in data. Built for reform.

Document lived experiences

Families raising children with RAD and related neurobehavioral conditions face profound challenges that remain significantly under-researched. We collect structured data to create a record.

Identify systemic patterns

We examine crisis response, service access, and the intersection of disability, Medicaid obligations, and child welfare practices across multiple states.

Advocate for policy reform

Evidence-based policy reforms, including Safe Harbor protections. Findings are compiled in aggregate and used to inform policy, oversight, and reform efforts at federal and state levels.

Build the long-term record

This work is grounded in data, not anecdote. The record we build now becomes the foundation for sustained federal and state-level advocacy for years to come.

Preliminary data collected across multiple states indicates consistent patterns: crisis-level behaviors posing safety risks, barriers to accessing medically necessary services, retaliatory system responses following good-faith help-seeking, and inconsistent post-placement support in foster and adoption contexts. These patterns raise serious questions regarding disability discrimination, Medicaid compliance, and the legal treatment of families acting to protect safety.

Why This Work Is Necessary

What the data already shows.

Crisis-level behaviors posing safety risks to children, siblings, and caregivers — with insufficient system response and inadequate stabilization options.

Barriers to accessing medically necessary emergency and stabilization services, including inappropriate denials, delays, and discharge without adequate planning.

Retaliatory or punitive system responses following good-faith help-seeking — families penalized for trying to access the care their children need.

Inconsistent disclosure, preparation, and post-placement support in foster and adoption contexts — setting families up to fail before they begin.

Serious questions regarding disability discrimination and Medicaid compliance in the denial of services to children with severe neurobehavioral conditions.

The legal treatment of families acting to protect safety — including criminalization of protective actions and false allegations against caregivers.

Data Collection & Research Methods

Structured. Voluntary. Confidential.

We conduct structured, voluntary, parent-reported surveys designed to capture:

1

Crisis behaviors and safety risks within the home environment

2

System responses following emergency help-seeking by caregivers

3

Relational and family-wide impacts of severe attachment disorders

4

Foster and adoption disclosure and preparation practices

All data collected is:

Collected confidentially — no identifying information
Reported only in aggregate — never individually attributed
Reviewed for consistency and pattern identification
Used exclusively for research, policy analysis, and advocacy

Participation does not obligate families to legal action or public disclosure. Behind-the-scenes support is just as essential as public storytelling.

Participate in the Surveys

Your experience is the data.

Survey 1
Safe Harbor Family Crisis & Extreme Behavior Survey

Documents crisis behaviors, safety risks, access to emergency and stabilization services, and system responses following help-seeking.

Take Survey 1
Survey 2
Relational Harm, Coercive Manipulation & Family Impact Survey

Examines coercive relational patterns, credibility harm, and impacts on siblings and caregivers.

Take Survey 2
Survey 3
Foster & Adoption Disclosure and Preparation Survey

Documents pre-placement disclosure, training, informed consent, and post-placement supports.

Take Survey 3
Join the Advocacy & Research Team

Add your voice
to the movement.

We are assembling a national advocacy and research team. No legal or clinical background is required. Public storytelling is optional. Behind-the-scenes support is essential.

Data review and pattern analysis
Policy and legislative advocacy
State-level coordination
Research and documentation support

Every voice matters. You don't need to be public to make an impact. The families who share their data are building the evidence base that makes federal reform possible.

Join the Team

139 volunteers and counting · Until They're All Safe