Families Are The Worst, And The Best, In Foster

Earcylene Beavers Always Wanted A Lot Of Children, And She Got Her Wish—just Not The Way She Expected.

- Belinda Luscombe

Beavers, who’s in her 60s, gave birth to a daughter, but has mothered more children than she can count through the foster system. She currently has four at home, including one of the three she adopted, Jake, who has cerebral palsy.

While the rate of child maltreatment has dropped in the past 30 years, U.S. child- protection authorities still get about 4 million calls a year. Research suggests that 1 in 8 American children is neglected or abused by the age of 18. It’s one thing to know the numbers behind the foster-care system. But it’s quite another to watch Denyshia, 13, one of Beavers’ charges, say matter-of-factly, “I was abandoned . . . I didn’t think no one would ever want me.”