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What if we've been looking at residential care all wrong? Professor Bruce Henderson, author of "Challenging the Conventional Wisdom About Residential Care for Children and Youth," presents a compelling case for rethinking our approach to caring for vulnerable children.

Drawing on over 35 years of experience with Black Mountain Home for Children and his extensive research analysis, Professor Henderson challenges the notion that residential care should be a "last resort" option. He shares the heartbreaking reality of children who bounce between dozens of placements—one young person experienced 35 different homes by age 15—creating devastating disruption in their education, relationships, and development.

The conversation explores how residential care has been unfairly maligned, often based on research involving substandard institutional settings that bears little resemblance to high-quality contemporary programs. Professor Henderson explains that the core issue isn't the setting but the quality of care provided. "You can find good and bad versions of every kind of care," he notes, "and to a large degree, the question of quality is a question of building relationships."

Professor Henderson advocates for a "children first" approach instead of "family first," emphasizing that each child's unique needs should determine their placement. For some children, especially sibling groups who might otherwise be separated, residential care provides stability, consistent education, and a therapeutic community. The Black Mountain model demonstrates how residential care can be part of a comprehensive array of services including foster care, family reunification, and transition support.

This thought-provoking discussion challenges listeners to move beyond ideological preferences about care settings and focus instead on what creates genuine healing and growth for children who've experienced trauma. Join us as we explore how high-quality residential care—when done right—can be an essential option in supporting vulnerable children on their journey toward healthy adulthood.

Bio:

Bruce is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Western Carolina University, and is a child psychologist (PhD for Minnesota) whose research until 2018 focused on the development of curiosity and memory in children, and on teaching in higher education. Since then, most of his writing has been about residential care. His book Challenging the Conventional Wisdom about Residential Care for Children and Youth: A Good Place to Grow (Routledge, 2024) is a critical appraisal of the research on residential care and a defense of high-quality residential care for children who need it. For over 35 years, Bruce has been involved with the Black Mountain Home for Children, Youth, and Families, an organization that provides residential care, but also has foster care and adoption services, transitional and independent living programs for older youth, and works to reunite children with their families of origin whenever possible. Bruce lives with his wife Judy in the mountains of Western North Carolina. 

Disclaimer:

Information reported by guests of this podcast is assumed to be accurate as stated. Podcast owner Colby Pearce is not responsible for any error of facts presented by podcast guests. In addition, unless otherwise specified, opinions expressed by guests of this podcast may not reflect those of the podcast owner, Colby Pearce.

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