The word foster, by definition, means to promote the growth and development of a person, or idea, and further encourage that person or idea to its fullest potential. Perhaps things would be different today if that definition had been known in 1854, the year when the first known documented case of foster care, via the Orphan Trains, was recorded. Foster Care in the U.S. is written to educate, inform and bring about change, knowledge and understanding to an institution that is shrouded in secrecy, known for its failures and ridiculed for its lack of forward progress. This book is a comprehensive, overall, introduction to the U.S. foster care program.