Too many parents who find themselves involved with child welfare agencies have had lives threaded with deeply traumatic events. As adults, their childhood histories manifest themselves in substance abuse, domestic violence, relational problems, risk-taking behaviors, emotional lability, self-harming, anxiety, and depression. To successfully overcome the worst of the disabilities associated with complex childhood trauma, the family support community must be able to distinguish the behavioral hallmarks--the symptoms--of complex trauma from the chronic underlying traumatic history that drives the parents' behavior.