Secure Attachment, Developmental Trauma, and Child Welfare Decision-Making: A Human Development Perspective on Permanency, Parental Rehabilitation, and Neurobiological Well-Being

Purpose: This article examines how secure attachment, developmental trauma, and caregiving continuity should inform child welfare, reunification, custody, and permanency decisions. It considers the tension between parental rehabilitation and the child’s need for stable emotional bonds, developmental safety, and long-term well-being. Methodology: The study used an integrative literature review approach. Peer-reviewed scholarly sources were selected from psychology, developmental neuroscience, child welfare, trauma, attachment, and social work literature. The review focused on studies addressing developmental trauma, attachment disruption, placement instability, parental rehabilitation, reflective functioning, neurobiological stress responses, and permanency outcomes. Relevant evidence was examined thematically to identify implications for child welfare policy and practice. Findings: The reviewed literature shows that chronic neglect, unstable caregiving, repeated removals, and attachment disruption may affect emotional regulation, relational trust, identity formation, executive functioning, and stress-response systems. The findings also indicate that service completion, temporary sobriety, and housing stability do not alone establish parenting capacity. Sustained emotional regulation, reflective functioning, relational consistency, and responsiveness to the child’s needs are equally important when reunification is considered. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The article presents a child-centered developmental framework that connects attachment theory, developmental trauma, interpersonal neurobiology, and human development with permanency decision-making. It recommends that courts, evaluators, and child welfare professionals assess secure attachment, caregiver consistency, developmental risk, parental reflective functioning, and the child’s sense of belonging before making reunification or placement decisions.