For many hard-to-reach families who have experienced trauma in part related to involvement with public welfare institutions, creating a trusting relationship is the critical first step to finding ports of entry for additional intervention. In particular, parents who have been incarcerated are often profiled and stigmatized by criminal justice and law enforcement systems, which view them only as criminals without seeing their strengths as caring parents. Using a case description, the authors highlight ways in which advocacy across systems and collaboration with a family partner formed a bridge for engagement and treatment.