Foster parents have made a commitment to care and nurture children whose birth parents are unable or unwilling to care for them. That type of commitment fulfills the requirement of a civil community willing to be each other's keepers, and willing to consider the upbringing of children as a high priority, even children from strangers.

By taking care of children other than their own, foster parents lead the way in forming a community that is more respectful of children, and make parenting a less taxing and more fulfilling experience.

Proper upbringing does not mean merely feeding children, and making sure that they do not roam the streets. Basic medical services and adequate diet, while essential, are not enough to insure normal physical and emotional development. Beyond health care and nutrition, they need human contact, moral values, education and a good home.

The community and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles benefit from having foster parents who are able and willing to care for children in need and who have complex medical problems. The payoff will be the nurturing of future citizens who are more sensitive to one another but also more likely to contribute to the common good.