Therapeutic residential care can be a lifesaving resource for children and youth with complex needs and their families. However, research has shown that youth and family engagement is lacking in these programs, and residential care centers are challenged in implementing youth- and family-driven care.  

This webinar will offer insight from research and lived experiences on the current status of residential care, and it will suggest strategies to more effectively partner with the youth and families who receive these services. A panel of youth and parents who have experienced residential care will share what they found worked and did not work for their families, as well as identify strategies and approaches that would be helpful. Recent studies of family engagement in residential care will also be highlighted to support implementation.

Our very own Mary Buzzell will be presenting, here’s more on her. Mary Buzzell is registered with the State of Oregon as a Traditional Health Worker/Family Peer Support Specialist. As Trillium Family Services’ Family Partnership Coordinator she uses her “lived experience” raising four children, two with mental and behavioral health issues, to provide a supportive atmosphere for family members and caregivers of the children Trillium serves.