My parents died when I was young and my brother raised me.
That's awful. Since your parents died, did you consider yourself an orphan?
Yes, I did.. since I didn't have parents.
That's quite rare in America, since it's a developed nation.   What happened?
They were in a car accident. My brother was 18 and I was 5 so he just got custody of me.
That must have been really hard.  How did your brother support you?
A lot of government assistance. It wasn't easy. But it was either that or foster care.
Foster care
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family member approved by the state. The placement of the child is normally arranged through the government or a social service agency. The institution, group home or foster parent is compensated for expenses unless with a family member.
The State
there?brbrDolezal: Do you have a question about that?brbrReporter: Yes, ma'am. I was wondering if, uh, your dad really is an African American man?brbrDolezal: That's a very—I mean, I don't know what you're implying.brbrReporter: Are you African American?brbrDolezal: I don't... I don't understand the question of—I did tell you that yes that's my dad. And he was unable to come in January.brbrReporter: Are your parents—are they white?brbrDolezal: [Walking away] I refuse...