Across Delaware, children are being removed from their families — not because they’re unsafe, but because they’re misunderstood.

When children show trauma-related behaviors linked to conditions like Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), those behaviors are often misread as defiance, neglect, or abuse — especially when professionals haven’t been trained to recognize what they’re actually seeing.

The result?

🚫 Families are separated unnecessarily
💸 Taxpayers spend $100,000–$150,000 per child each year on placements
💔 Children experience deeper trauma — not healing

 
💔 A Real Delaware Family
My family has been separated for over two years — not because of abuse or neglect, but because my stepdaughter’s mental health condition was misunderstood.

She needed specialized, attachment-focused care.

Instead, she was placed into foster care — where her condition worsened.

We did everything we were told to do. We asked for help. We followed the system.

But the people making decisions about her life were never trained to recognize what was actually happening.

And we are not the only family this has happened to.

 
💡 The Solution: The HOPE Through Training Act
The HOPE (Helping Our Professionals Empower Families) Through Training Act would require specialist-led training for the professionals making life-changing decisions for children, including:

• Division of Family Services (DFS)
• Family Court staff
• Contracted providers

This training would:

✅ Help professionals correctly identify complex mental health conditions
✅ Use proven, evidence-based approaches (TF-CBT, PCIT, CPP)
✅ Prevent unnecessary removals
✅ Keep families safely together whenever possible
✅ Save Delaware an estimated $12–18 million annually
✅ Unlock federal funding through FFPSA and Medicaid

 
❤️ Why This Matters
Right now, Delaware has no law requiring this level of training.

That means life-changing decisions are being made without the tools needed to get them right.

This isn’t just a system issue — it’s a human one.

Every unnecessary removal:

• Adds trauma
• Disrupts development
• Breaks families apart
  
   📣 What We’re Asking
  We are calling on the Delaware General Assembly to:

👉 Sponsor and pass the HOPE Through Training Act

We are actively seeking legislative sponsorship — and public support is critical to moving this forward.

Because when professionals understand trauma and complex mental health:

💙 Families stay together
💙 Children get the right care
💙 Systems work the way they’re supposed to

 
✍️ Take Action
Sign and share this petition to help bring this to Delaware lawmakers.

Families deserve support — not separation.
Train our professionals. Protect our children. Pass the HOPE Act.