Pain and Promise

"Some say life is simple, but we insist on making it complicated. Child welfare is just the opposite. It's really complicated, but we keep trying to make it simple."A subset of older youth in the American foster care system have been bounced between foster homes, psychiatric hospitals, kinship care, homelessness, and juvenile detention. Deeply wounded by their circumstances and disengaged from society, some are placed in a Residential Treatment Center--the least understood, most maligned, and most expensive level of foster care. Pain and Promise is about these kids, the system "outliers." It showcases their voices, reveals the inside story about the residential treatment programs devoted to their care, and reflects on Nan Dale's 30 years of experience, including her 22 years as CEO of The Children's Village (CV). This book reimagines how to address a myriad of challenges and provide these kids with the opportunities they need and deserve. Aron Myers, a former resident of CV and now an accomplished clinical social worker, helps bring the book's many pieces together. Pain and Promise addresses the question of whether group care programs for foster youth should exist at all. New regulations and family support programs have improved the lives of many kids, but some have been damaged by one-size-fits-all policies. Residential treatment has been their placement of last resort, yet recent legislation is pushing these programs into extinction and offering few good options. This book offers an honest look at residential care because we are serious about providing all children, including those dangerously disconnected from us all, a genuine shot at a safe and fulfilling future.