From Surviving to Thriving: Reframing the Conversation Around Foster Care

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Viewers can prepare to have their perceptions challenged as the acclaimed Public Television program, “Empowered with Meg Ryan,” features Buckhorn Therapeutic Care to present a powerful segment on foster care. This educational segment focuses on the pressing national need for more foster families and seeks to re-contextualize the common experiences of children who have endured trauma. The segment will illuminate how behaviors often associated with foster children are frequently trauma responses or survival mechanisms, not inherent character flaws. By choosing to view these children through the lens of their immense resilience and unburdened potential, the program aims to inspire a new generation of supportive foster families to step forward.

Public Television audiences are invited to learn more about the crucial role of safe, consistent, and supportive environments in a segment filming in October of 2025, in Buckhorn, KY. The segment will explore the comprehensive support systems, including evidence-based therapies and in-home services, that organizations like Buckhorn provide to foster families. This framework demonstrates how stability, consistent rules, and trauma-informed care enable children to address their past, foster growth, and flourish. Buckhorn’s professional team, including counselors and case managers, brings these services directly to the families to reduce complexity and serve as crucial mentors. The program will also touch upon Buckhorn’s proactive approach, including their Family Preservation Program, which is designed to provide crisis support and intervention to keep families together whenever feasible.

“Every child deserves to be seen as an individual, and not as a behavior problem,” stated Joy Delisle, CEO of Buckhorn. “Nation-wide, we are in need of more people to provide loving, nurturing, structured homes to help these children achieve their full potential. They deserve to have the same opportunities as children who are raised in a healthier home. Please consider opening your hearts and your homes to give a child in need the opportunity they deserve. We would love to have you become a part of our mission, to help these children.”

The feature will examine the historical roots of Buckhorn Therapeutic Care, which began as an orphanage and school in 1902 to serve the underserved children of Appalachia. This enduring legacy of evolving to meet community needs underscores their holistic and individualized approach to care, which now spans foster care, family preservation, and treatment for adults with substance use disorder.

Buckhorn’s message is firm: every child deserves to be loved, supported, and valued, and their past does not define their future. These children are often young, talented, and intelligent, showing incredible strength to get through what they have endured. For those foster families who find the perfect fit, Buckhorn supports the full adoption journey. The segment seeks to educate potential foster parents, financial supporters, and policy makers about the profound opportunity to provide a stable, healing environment where a child’s strengths, not their past, define their future.

About Empowered with Meg Ryan: “Empowered with Meg Ryan” is a Public Television program that offers viewers valuable insights and educational content, inspiring them to take informed action in their lives and communities. The program highlights organizations that are making a positive impact and providing pathways to greater well-being. Learn more at: www.empoweredprogram.com

About Buckhorn Therapeutic Care: Buckhorn Therapeutic Care is a dedicated organization with a history dating back to 1902. Founded by Reverend Harvey Murdoch to serve the people of Appalachia, the organization has evolved from a school and orphanage to a multifaceted service provider offering foster care, family preservation, and residential and outpatient treatment for adults. Buckhorn is committed to using evidence-based practices and a holistic, individualized approach to help those who are most at-risk and vulnerable, providing a safe environment for healing and growth. Buckhorn also offers residential treatment for children on the Autism spectrum or with a Developmental/Intellectual Disability (DD/ID). Learn more at: www.buckhorn.org

SOURCE Empowered with Meg Ryan