In Lost in the System, Charlotte tells her inspiring story. A foster child from the age of two, she bounced around foster homes until she went to live in a home that she expected to be permanent. But while this house was safe and secure, it never became her home, because her foster parents wouldn't adopt her. After eleven years of waiting, Charlotte moved to an emergency shelter for children in crisis. Although the house rules were tough - especially for a teenager - Charlotte kept up her grades, participated in sports and school activities, and even entered the Miss Vermont Teen USA pageant. In August 1992, she was crowned Miss Teen USA, an achievement she had always dreamed of. Still, she felt incomplete. It wasn't until she was legally adopted by Jill Charles and Al Scheps, at age 17, that she found a real home and family. Lost in the System describes her journey through the foster care system - but more important, through that minefield called adolescence - in search of an emotional home and solid family ties.