College student overcomes troubled past, completes D.C. internship

[img_assist|nid=6747|title=Click on photo to enlarge or download|desc=Ivis Flanagan, who spent part of her teen years in foster care, completed a summer internship at the Children’s Defense Fund. Photo courtesy of the Orphan Foundation of America|link=popup|align=left|width=250|height=167]WASHINGTON - Ivis Flanagan became a foster child when she was 16 years old. She faced abuse and stints in psychiatric hospitals. But Flanagan survived those troubled years and spent this summer here as an intern for the Children's Defend Fund.