Nowhere to Call Home in Florida. Foster Kids Bounce Around
Justice McGuill was barely 12 when she walked into the house in Hudson, her little hands gripping tightly to a duffel bag containing her only possessions.
It was her fifth foster home in a year.
This one felt like a real home. Even better, it was her first chance to live with her three younger brothers since they were all claimed by the foster care system.
But her foster dad started molesting her when she hit puberty, she said. She kept it secret so she could stay with her brothers until she was moved again.
In all, Justice lived in 10 different homes in just four years before she and her brothers were adopted.
“I felt like I had nowhere to call home,” she said. “Sometimes you don’t even want to unpack.”
Foster care is intended to be a temporary safety net for children at risk of neglect and abuse at home. Those children, many already traumatized, need love and stability to recover and thrive, child psychologists say…
