From the shelves of co-grandma Mimi Miller, who died in February 2020.

A personal view of the foster care system through the lives of a small group of foster children over a period of about five years. The author met and interviewed the young people at various stages of their lives, met with foster parents and was one herself. With the aid of additional research (there are extensive notes at the end of the book detailing this), she draws some conclusions and makes a few recommendations.

We get to know some of the children. We learn where they came from, how many homes they have lived in, how they have managed - or not - and where they are when they are finally officially grown. Beam concludes that the children who have the best outcomes are those for whom there have been persons - parents or not - who have committed to them for the long term. She also finds that most child welfare systems depend on finding placements for children rather than finding out what will work best in the particular situation. In other words, the money comes from specific actions and is not there for others that may be more helpful.

Again and again in this book are examples of the failures of foster care, both in terms of the foster parents and in the agencies. There needs to be a shift in priorities and the ability to find and use different solutions to different situations. It hurt my heart to read of how alone so many of these young people really are in the end.