How systems fail families living with severe attachment-related disorders. Three surveys. 360+ families. One consistent story.
78% of families who sought emergency psychiatric care faced CPS involvement or legal consequences as a result. This report documents why — and what must change.
Until They're All Safe conducted a three-survey research initiative examining the experiences of families caring for children with severe attachment-related disorders — including RAD, FASD, complex trauma, and co-occurring behavioral conditions. Across 360 families and three separate instruments, the data tells a single, consistent story: families were placed with children without adequate disclosure or preparation; denied services when crises emerged; and then threatened with legal consequences when they sought emergency help.
Survey 1 captured 182 families navigating active behavioral crises. 77% had brought their child to an emergency room seeking psychiatric care. What happened next defines the central finding of this research.
78% of families who brought their child to the emergency room for a psychiatric crisis faced CPS involvement or legal consequences as a result. Only 1 in 5 families sought emergency help without system retaliation. The ER — designed to provide care — became the primary entry point for family criminalization.
What the system told families seeking help
| "We have nothing else to offer" | |
| "Call the police" | |
| "This is a parenting issue" | |
| "Seeking help could be abandonment" | |
| "Try another parenting class" |
Consequences after ER visit
| Any CPS or legal consequence | |
| CPS investigation opened | |
| Legal threats or charges | |
| Threatened with abandonment charges | |
| Faced zero consequences of any kind |
What families did on their own
| Installed locks or alarms | |
| Installed cameras | |
| Sought multiple evaluations | |
| Paid out of pocket | |
| Quit work or reduced hours |
Caregiver impact
| PTSD symptoms | |
| Severe sleep deprivation | |
| Relationship breakdown | |
| Physical health issues | |
| Job loss |
This pattern held regardless of insurance type. Medicaid: 78%. Privately insured: 83%. This is not a poverty problem. It is a structural failure.
RAD and mood disorders are NOT always the result of poor parenting. You cannot love brain wiring into its correct place. An attempt for help should NOT mean automatic CPS reports.
— Survey 1 respondentSurvey 2 focused on the specific patterns of relational harm and coercive manipulation occurring inside family households — and on how professionals responded when families described them. Every single respondent confirmed they had observed these patterns in their home.
Patterns observed inside the home
| Gaslighting or denial of events | |
| Splitting caregivers against each other | |
| Charming in public, dangerous at home | |
| Lying to undermine caregiver credibility | |
| False or exaggerated allegations | |
| Threatening self-harm to control | |
| Threatening to report caregivers |
How professionals responded
| Minimization or disbelief | |
| Blamed on parenting style | |
| Accused of exaggerating | |
| "Normal parenting stress" | |
| Warned about CPS involvement | |
| Believed and supported |
86% of respondents said professionals believed the child over the caregiver — without investigation.
80% changed what they shared with professionals out of fear. Of those most afraid, 82% had already experienced disbelief. The system created the silence — then used it against families.
These behaviors amount to domestic violence. If my spouse treated me the way my child with RAD treats me, there would be supports and safe houses in place. We are expected to continue living with our abuser and "just get over it."
— Survey 2 respondentSurvey 3 documents what happened before families were placed with these children. The crises in Surveys 1 and 2 were not accidental. They were the predictable consequence of a system that withheld critical information, provided no preparation, and abandoned families after placement.
67% received no verbal disclosure before the child entered their home. 36% learned of their child's diagnoses only after placement. 27% learned their other children were at risk only after placement.
Pre-placement disclosure
| Nothing disclosed verbally | |
| No written records provided | |
| Full file never received | |
| Complete records before placement |
Pre-placement training
| No training on attachment disorders | |
| No written protocols for high-risk behaviors | |
| Training covered sibling safety risks |
Post-adoption services — denied or delayed
| At least one service denied or delayed | |
| Services not available | |
| Insurance or funding barriers | |
| Child deemed "too complex" | |
| Child deemed "too behavioral" |
Children were deemed too complex and too behavioral by the same system that placed them without disclosure or preparation.
Retaliation for seeking help post-adoption
| Warned help = neglect or abandonment | |
| Fear affected whether they sought help | |
| Lack of disclosure contributed to safety risks |
Caseworkers trying to get children adopted are not disclosing the full truth about kids with severe developmental and behavioral disorders. They create a false story of the children to get them adopted. This is deceptive and harmful for the children and families trying to adopt.
— Survey 3 respondentRead individually, each survey documents a serious problem. Read together, they document a system. 360+ families across three instruments describe the same arc of harm in consistent detail.
Open-text responses across all three surveys reveal consistent, specific demands. These are not vague requests for "more support." They are precise, actionable, and urgent.
Believe us.We are not exaggerating — if anything, we are underreporting.
Mandatory full disclosureof all behavioral history, diagnoses, and prior placements before any placement.
RAD trainingfor ER physicians, CPS workers, judges, schools, and law enforcement.
Residential treatment pathwaysthat don't require custody relinquishment or criminal investigation to access.
Legal protectionfor families who seek emergency psychiatric care for their children.
Recognitionthat child-to-caregiver and child-to-sibling abuse is real and requires protective response.
Every single time you choose not to favor the parents, you are giving the child with unhealed trauma responses and brain damage more power and control over the family. No one can be hypervigilant 24/7 years on end. Without real help this will end in tragedy.
— Survey 2 respondentIf a medical facility cannot house and care for the child safely for treatment due to behaviors — how can a family, especially with other children to keep safe, be expected to house and care for the child safely inside their home?
— Survey 3 respondentThis dataset grows with every family who participates. At 500 responses, UTAS will submit these findings for peer-reviewed publication — permanently entering this evidence into the academic and policy record.
72%+ of the way there. If you have lived this experience, your voice belongs in this data.
Take the SurveyVoluntary. Confidential. Reported only in aggregate.