As a foster parent, I have cared for children who have been physically and sexually tortured, raped and molested at the hands of family members, children who have been intentionally burned, had hardware tools shoved into their anus by a grandfather, been called an “ass hole” by their mother, gone hungry because mom hasn’t been home since Wednesday and it is now Sunday, watched as mom has performed oral sex for a man they don’t even know in exchange for meth and left them in a crib so long that, even as an adult, there is a permanent dent in his head. I have cared for babies withdrawing from crack and meth as well as children who have the permanent effects of fetal alcohol syndrome. I cared for a two month old baby girl who had multiple broken bones from abuse as well as a broken pelvis from being raped. These are not the lucky ones. This is their reality and it was only for the grace of God that it was not ours.
