Excerpt from "Spare the Changes, Save the 14-year old girl"
by Paul Loh and Peter K. Stris

Anna Guo, who goes by the nickname "Baby," is 14 years old. She should be looking forward to four years in high school. Instead, she is nursing three bullet wounds and facing four years of incarceration.

Anna's story is Dickensian. She was abandoned by her mother in China and severely beaten by her father in America. Although her father was convicted for his abuse, she was soon returned to his "care." Anna was ultimately forced to call a social worker to arrange a second separation. Anna was 12.

Like many young women with similar histories, Anna thought herself unworthy of love. She began to mutilate herself with knives. Placed in a group home, Anna never received a proper psychiatric diagnosis. Instead, she received sedatives.

Eventually, Anna was transferred to the home of Robert and Zaida Worthley. The Worthleys, who have successfully raised over a dozen foster children, were never apprised of the seriousness of Anna's psychological condition.