Episode Summary
Phoebe Johnson spent her childhood living in foster care. Today she runs the kind of home she once needed. As executive director of Firm Foundation Youth Homes and Gigi's Cottage, she talks with Micaela about what it took to get there, the foster mom who never gave up on her, and the two models that shape how the girls in her care are met every day: Trust-Based Relational Intervention and Grace Based Parenting. Her central message holds for any adult showing up for a child carrying complex trauma. You can't redirect a brain until it feels safe, and connection is what heals it.
In This Episode
00:00 Cold open
00:15 Welcome, season framing, and a content note
01:30 Meet Phoebe: Firm Foundation Youth Homes and Gigi's Cottage
03:00 Phoebe's story: foster care, a pastor's family, and seven years to permanency
08:00 Losing Ona, a scholarship she didn't know existed, and the people who walked her into adulthood
12:00 Stepping into the executive director role
14:30 Empathy for a system under pressure: community problem, community solutions
17:00 Why loving your staff well is how you love the girls well
20:00 Length of stay, permanency, and meeting each girl where she is
23:00 Trust-Based Relational Intervention and how complex trauma lives in the brain
26:00 Grace Based Parenting: connection before correction, and play as a regulator
30:00 Staying connected with girls who age out
33:00 What general audiences misunderstand about group homes
36:00 The gaps Phoebe sees, and how anyone can step in
38:00 Where to find Phoebe's work
39:00 Reflection and close
About Our Guest
Phoebe Johnson is the executive director of Firm Foundation Youth Homes and its DCS-licensed group home, Gigi's Cottage. She grew up in foster care herself and now leads the kind of home that shaped her.
Resources and Links
Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development
Grace Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel
National CASA/GAL Association for Children
About the Show
By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care is produced by Voices for CASA Children. Season 3, "Understanding Every Voice in the Room," features practical, human conversations with professionals and people with lived experience. Hosted by Micaela Tracy. New episodes biweekly.
The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the guests and host and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of VOICES or its affiliates. Content Warning: This episode may include discussions of sensitive topics that could be triggering for some listeners.
Voices for CASA Children | By Their Side: Advocating for Children in Foster Care
