Youth welfare offices are often heavily criticized. Severely neglected and abused children, even fatalities, raise doubts about the effectiveness of governmental oversight. Why were the affected children not placed with foster parents or in homes earlier? On the other hand, the youth welfare office still carries the stigma of being a "child-snatching authority," whose placement practices and implementation of residential support are blamed for the problematic behaviors of children in care and foster homes. The author comprehensively explains the motivations, processes, and means by which youth welfare offices carry out external placements. From an attachment theory perspective, she examines the consequences for the affected children and adolescents. To support her analysis, she draws on various findings from attachment research and reinforces them with results from other research fields. Based on this foundation, both the measures taken by youth welfare offices and the accusations made by their critics can be critically questioned.