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

When a child shows trauma-related behaviors linked to serious mental health conditions like Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) or Developmental Trauma Disorder, professionals who haven’t been trained often mistake those symptoms for “defiance,” “neglect,” or “abuse.”

This misunderstanding leads to:

🚫 Unnecessary family separations

💸 Costly residential placements ($100,000–$150,000 per child each year)

💔 Deeper trauma for children and parents

It’s not fair to the families — or to the frontline workers who are doing their best without proper training.

💔 My Family’s Story:

My family has been separated for more than two years — not because of abuse or neglect, but because professionals didn’t understand my stepdaughter’s mental health condition.

She lives with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), a serious but misunderstood condition caused by early trauma.

Instead of getting the attachment-focused therapy she needed, she was placed into foster care — where her condition worsened. 

We’ve spent years trying to help, advocate, and educate the very systems that were supposed to support her.

If those professionals had been properly trained, our family might still be together.

And we’re not the only ones. Other Delaware families have lived this same nightmare because the people making life-changing decisions for children simply haven’t been given the tools or training they need.

💡 The Solution: The HOPE Through Training Act:

The HOPE (Helping Our Professionals Empower Families) Through Training Act would ensure that every professional serving Delaware children — including DFS staff, Family Court workers, and contracted providers — receives specialist-led, trauma-informed, attachment-focused training.

This Act would:

✅ Equip professionals to recognize and respond to complex childhood mental-health conditions

✅ Use evidence-based practices like TF-CBT, PCIT, and CPP

✅ Preserve family unity whenever safely possible

✅ Save taxpayers $12–18 million a year by reducing costly out-of-home placements

✅ Unlock federal funds through FFPSA and Medicaid.

❤️ Why It Matters:

Every unnecessary removal adds trauma and drains public resources.

With HOPE Training, Delaware can:

🌱 Keep families safely together

🧩 Improve child mental-health outcomes

💪 Strengthen the workforce

💵 Reinvest savings into prevention and family support.

This is how we move from a reactive system to a responsive one — one that truly protects children and strengthens families.

📣 What We’re Asking:

We call on the Delaware General Assembly to pass the HOPE Through Training Act in 2026.

Because when professionals are trained to understand trauma…

💙 Families stay stable. Children stay safe. Hope stays alive.

✍️ Add Your Name

Sign and share this petition to tell Delaware’s leaders:

Families deserve support — not separation.

Train our professionals. Protect our children. Pass the HOPE Through Training Act.