Doc. FOSTER on HBO-Foster Care System Seen from Inside the System is a MUST SEE

The documentary film FOSTER available on HBO on demand is an extraordinary look into the Foster Care System.  The film uncovers the impact the foster care system has on a child.  Dir/writer Mark Jonathan Harris and producer Deborah Oppenheimer have made an unforgettable film of compelling stories within the LA Dept. of Child and Family Services; the largest county welfare agency in the US.   To say Mrs. Beavers, a foster parent is remarkable is a gross understatement.  She has taken in more than 1,000 foster kids, has 4 adopted children living with her now, one girl with autism and a young man with cerebral palsy.  She's become legal guardian for many others & constantly being contacted to take in more children.  Her unremitting patience, compassion and love for children is deeply moving and inspiring.  She'll tell you "When a child is taken from the parent, if they didn't have an issue before, they have one now."  The Dept. of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in LA has 18,000 children in the 'system'.  Their main goal is to reunify families & provide safe & loving homes.  Sadly, that's not often feasible.  The children will tell you "I didn't know I could be loved again." "You just bounce from place to place."  "I spent most of my youth in social welfare and I hated social welfare workers."  The doc. will highlight the dedication & compassion of foster parents, social workers, lawyers & judges & the turmoils of children placed in foster care.  The film focuses on 4 young people caught up in DCFS.  Raeanne, a young mother has her baby girl taken away at birth after traces of cocaine were found in the infant.  Raeanne's anguish is heartbreaking.  The custody of her daughter is given to the baby's father, Chris, an admirable hard working parent residing with his grandfather.  We see social welfare workers check-in on Chris and on supervised visits with Chris, Reanne & their infant daughter.  The goal for reunification is supported by social workers, the court system and Reanne's determination to care for her daughter.  The lens allows us to view the court system, the meetings between legal & social welfare advocates for the child and judges who are stringent but also supportive.  The mounds of paperwork in the courts and DCFS are overwhelming.  There are almost 1/2 million children in foster care in the country and the numbers continue to climb.  This documentary should be mandated viewing.  It reveals the inner workings of everyone involved DCFS; the strengths and endless frailties.   Essential changes argued here are the need to raise when children are cast off from social services to at least 21, more affordable housing, continued counseling and more foster parents like Mrs. Beavers.   Underlying issues of poverty, racism, mental health and addiction need to be addressed.  Nonetheless, FOSTER will strike a major chord for empathy, admiration and a clarion call for supporting the needs of foster children.