Foster care survivor decries conditions.

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There are more than 500,000 children in the U.S. foster care system. For perspective, that is more than the population of pre-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. Beyond the numbers, each child bears a personal story that starts with heartbreak and almost always ends with it, too. "The system is failing America's foster children, states Margaret luculano, whose difficult trip through foster care is documented in My God Box.

"Children are ripped from their less than idyllic homes and shuffled around to foster parents who don't always have the child's best interests in mind," she insists. Many of the families that took luculano in during those tough childhood years were using her and the system as an additional source of income "I'm not saying all foster parents are bad," she indicates. "That would be unfair to those who foster for the right reasons, but there are many unscrupulous people who bring emotionally fragile and physically wounded children into their homes simply for the paycheck--and the more kids they bring into their home, the more money the government pays them. The system needs a major overhaul."

Another issue of particular concern to luculano is when foster children "age out" of the system once they turn 18 or complete high school. Are vulnerable youths who have bounced from home to home and school to school able to handle life on their own? According to...