Makita Cotto got home from school one day to face unwelcome news from her foster mother. A judge had forbidden Cotto, who was 15 at the time, from ever speaking with her biological mother or brother.

“If I did, then I was facing contempt of court at 15,” Cotto, now 36, recalled. She immediately got on the phone with her state-provided attorney, also known as a guardian ad litem, who had asked for the court order.

Read the full Colorado Newsline story here.