When professionals entered the situation, they entered into an established social fact rather than an open question.

The starting point for their interactions was “Nicholas is home” rather than “is this person Nicholas?”

This is a significant institutional vulnerability.

When social service systems are designed to support families in crisis, the orientation is toward helping rather than investigating.

The professional orientation of a social worker is not the same as the professional orientation of a law enforcement investigator.

The former is trained to provide support; the latter is trained to verify facts and identify deception.