Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Opening Doors to Higher Education for Youth in Foster Care
Opening Doors to Higher Education for Youth in Foster Care, from the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, addresses the financial aid reforms necessary for youth in care as they strive to attain a postsecondary education.
Monday, April 5, 2010
NY Proposed Legislation re: Immigrant Children in Foster Care
Dromm Bill Helps Immigrant Children In Foster Care
By John Toscano, Western Queens Gazette, March 31, 2010.
A bill that would require the city Administration for Children’s Services to create a plan to protect immigrant children in foster care and perhaps put them on the path to permanent status in the U.S. was passed by the City Council last week.
The bill, introduced by Councilmember Daniel Dromm (D–Jackson Heights), seeks to ensure that immigrant children who are eligible for Special Immigration Juvenile Status (SIJS) are identified as quickly as possible and are receiving all the appropriate benefits, Dromm who chairs the Immigration Committee, said.
Qualifying for SIJS, Dromm added, would enable undocumented children to apply for this status, become permanent residents and obtain a green card.
“Immigrant children deserve the same rights as everyone,” Dromm stated. “This bill will help children in ACS supervision get access to the immigration services they need. We must ensure that children who qualify are given the opportunities they deserve, including the ability to be put on a path towards citizenship.”
Dromm added that he was “proud to move this important bill which protects the rights of immigrant children in foster care”.
Without a dedicated plan for immigrant services, Dromm explained, once a young person turns 21, he or she become ineligible for SIJS status and also loses the opportunity to take full advantage of various services available to lawful U.S. residents.
Dromm, whose district is one of the most diverse in the city, pointed out that his legislation would result in an accurate and efficient identification and tracking system in order to coordinate immigration services that would most fully protect the rights of immigrant children.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Yay, Merli
A 'minor' miracle: Feisty foster kid to be sister's keeper
Klein, Melissa. New York Post, Dec. 27, 2009.
Every year, Merli Desrosier promised her little sister a Christmas gift better than a new doll or the latest computer game.
"She was, like, 'Don't worry. Next Christmas, you're going to be living with me,' " said Marie Estimé, who then lived with their allegedly neglectful father. "Then it kept going -- 'next Christmas, next Christmas.' "
Merli was practically a child herself, a teenager living in foster care and attending high school.
But this Christmas, Merli made good. Now a 25-year-old college graduate, she took in her sister, now 16, and is pursuing the unusual step of adopting her. The move will legally cement a bond that has endured through years of hardship.
"Since I was 9, it's been that way -- that I'm like her mom," Merli said.
Merli's mother died four days after giving birth to Marie in 1993 because of complications from the birth and sickle cell anemia. The sisters and their brother, Yves, were shuttled between relatives and foster care before their father took them in two years later.
Merli was placed in foster care again at 16 after an argument with her father during which, she said, he tried to strangle her.
Marie and Yves stayed with their father, and Merli visited often to keep tabs on them, bringing her sister clothes and doing her hair.
Marie eventually went back to foster care. Merli continued her education, something she said her mother always stressed and she enjoyed.
"School was the only place I could be a kid, where I could be a teenager and not be a parent or an adult," she said.
Merli got a scholarship to the College of Staten Island. A financial-aid package later allowed her to attend Purchase College, and she graduated in May.
Her little sister, meanwhile, was despondent in her foster home.
"I just decided, whether or not I had a career lined up or an actual place big enough for her to live in, that I would take her in," Merli said.
Merli became Marie's foster mother, and the younger sister moved into her "mom's" Harlem studio in July.
Merli said she wanted to adopt her sister to get her out of the foster-care bureaucracy and provide her with a more normal life, one that she had promised.
But the small apartment was a roadblock, because it was not suitable for an adoption placement.
And Merli has been unable to find work in marketing or public relations, as she had hoped, and has only a part-time job at a clothing store.
The New York Foundling, the agency that oversees Marie's care, has stepped up to help with the adoption process and in securing a bigger apartment.
First, the agency asked some hard questions, to make sure Merli was in it for the long haul. Cases of siblings adopting siblings are extremely rare, with the agency overseeing just one such arrangement, out of 123 adoptions, in the last fiscal year.
"We just wanted to make sure that this was beyond a passing infatuation," said Bill Baccaglini, The Foundling's executive director. "Merli has certainly demonstrated that."
He said Merli never wavered from her goal of getting an education and one day taking in her sister.
The agency provided the security deposit and first month's rent for a two-bedroom in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. A Section 8 housing subsidy will help Merli pay the $1,224 rent. The sisters will move into their new home in a couple of weeks. The adoption process could take up to 10 months.
Merli, Marie and their brother -- now a 24-year-old college student in Florida -- spent Christmas together. While Marie said she got good gifts, the holiday wasn't about presents.
"I didn't really want anything," she said, "because I already got what I wanted -- which was to live with my sister."
Friday, November 27, 2009
Grant to assist Rochester service providers in understanding & responding to impact of trauma on foster children
Mt. Hope Family Center Awarded $1.2 Million as Part of Child Trauma Network
Hagen, Susan. University of Rochester News, Nov. 25, 2009.
Mt. Hope Family Center has been awarded a three-year, $1.2 million grant to join the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, a federally funded partnership of academic and community-based centers aimed at improving care for children and families struggling with abuse, neglect, community violence, and other forms of trauma.
The new funding will allow the University of Rochester center to provide treatment for 270 young children in foster care and their biological and foster families and to develop effective therapies that can be used at centers nationwide. Mt. Hope is the only program in Western New York invited to join the network.
"Being selected is huge because Mt. Hope will now be able to partner with about 60 centers across the nation, all focused on evidence-based therapies for children recovering from trauma," says Sheree Toth, executive director of Mt. Hope Family Center. "It's an incredible opportunity to bring in resources, one that not only enhances our capabilities, but that changes our community."
Toth explained that the new resources will strengthen ongoing efforts by Rochester-area service providers to understand and recognize the effect of trauma on children. For instance, she explained, a high percentage of youngsters referred for behavior problems or mental health issues in this community also have experienced trauma. Understanding that history and learning how to help children recover can be key to preventing a lifetime of problems.
The grant will supply support for a variety of innovative therapies that have been clinically proven effective, including one of the center's most promising: Child-Parent Psychotherapy. "We believe a strong parent-child relationship is the key to preventing maltreatment and building healthy families," says Toth. To reinforce those ties, psychotherapists will meet with families weekly, helping parent and child nurture a close, connected relationship and encouraging appreciation for the child's developmental level. Research shows that the psychotherapy program builds parents' sense of competency and strengthens children's sense of security and attachment, improving their chances for success. Without such intervention, explains Toth, families struggling with trauma often fail to create a secure relationship, which "sets children up for a cascade of failures in their whole life." As an indication of the success of the approach, says Toth, 48 of the 60 members of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network have expressed interest in child-parent psychotherapy.
The grant also will make available one-on-one therapy with children to help them better understand and cope with the emotional shock they have experienced. For example, children who have suffered physical abuse often believe that they deserve the ill treatment, explains Toth. Therapy helps children let go of these unhealthy feelings of guilt and recover a sense of safety. It teaches children problem solving and self-calming skills and helps them to identify and express emotions appropriately. To ease the adjustment to foster care, center therapists also work with caretakers, encouraging understanding of and appropriate responses to the negative behaviors that often accompany post-traumatic stress.
The exciting thing about this grant, says Toth, is that it will bring proven treatments for trauma to those who need them most. "That's a significant advance over the 1970s and 80s, when service providers basically thought, 'Well, I'll be a nice person to these children and somehow that will make them better," she says. "Children and their families now have the possibility of benefiting from interventions that we know will work."
About the University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is one of the nation’s leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, and the Memorial Art Gallery.
Hagen, Susan. University of Rochester News, Nov. 25, 2009.
Mt. Hope Family Center has been awarded a three-year, $1.2 million grant to join the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, a federally funded partnership of academic and community-based centers aimed at improving care for children and families struggling with abuse, neglect, community violence, and other forms of trauma.
The new funding will allow the University of Rochester center to provide treatment for 270 young children in foster care and their biological and foster families and to develop effective therapies that can be used at centers nationwide. Mt. Hope is the only program in Western New York invited to join the network.
"Being selected is huge because Mt. Hope will now be able to partner with about 60 centers across the nation, all focused on evidence-based therapies for children recovering from trauma," says Sheree Toth, executive director of Mt. Hope Family Center. "It's an incredible opportunity to bring in resources, one that not only enhances our capabilities, but that changes our community."
Toth explained that the new resources will strengthen ongoing efforts by Rochester-area service providers to understand and recognize the effect of trauma on children. For instance, she explained, a high percentage of youngsters referred for behavior problems or mental health issues in this community also have experienced trauma. Understanding that history and learning how to help children recover can be key to preventing a lifetime of problems.
The grant will supply support for a variety of innovative therapies that have been clinically proven effective, including one of the center's most promising: Child-Parent Psychotherapy. "We believe a strong parent-child relationship is the key to preventing maltreatment and building healthy families," says Toth. To reinforce those ties, psychotherapists will meet with families weekly, helping parent and child nurture a close, connected relationship and encouraging appreciation for the child's developmental level. Research shows that the psychotherapy program builds parents' sense of competency and strengthens children's sense of security and attachment, improving their chances for success. Without such intervention, explains Toth, families struggling with trauma often fail to create a secure relationship, which "sets children up for a cascade of failures in their whole life." As an indication of the success of the approach, says Toth, 48 of the 60 members of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network have expressed interest in child-parent psychotherapy.
The grant also will make available one-on-one therapy with children to help them better understand and cope with the emotional shock they have experienced. For example, children who have suffered physical abuse often believe that they deserve the ill treatment, explains Toth. Therapy helps children let go of these unhealthy feelings of guilt and recover a sense of safety. It teaches children problem solving and self-calming skills and helps them to identify and express emotions appropriately. To ease the adjustment to foster care, center therapists also work with caretakers, encouraging understanding of and appropriate responses to the negative behaviors that often accompany post-traumatic stress.
The exciting thing about this grant, says Toth, is that it will bring proven treatments for trauma to those who need them most. "That's a significant advance over the 1970s and 80s, when service providers basically thought, 'Well, I'll be a nice person to these children and somehow that will make them better," she says. "Children and their families now have the possibility of benefiting from interventions that we know will work."
About the University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is one of the nation’s leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, and the Memorial Art Gallery.
Underground Railroad to Success for Foster Care Youth
Local Advocate for Foster Children Awarded Business Grant
Baristanet, Nov. 24, 2009.
Tanisha Cunningham knew too well how difficult the transition from foster care to emancipation can be. Having been raised in foster care and group homes herself, the sudden transition to independence was jarring. "The fact that I succeeded is not the usual case. It was not because I was given the resources, but because I sought them out for myself."
Her own experience in foster care inspired her to work in the New York City Child Welfare Office and to later pursue advanced degrees in Public Administration. In January 2009, she started The Underground Railroad to Success, Inc., a Montclair-based non-profit designed to provide resources to children transitioning out of the foster care system. According to Cunningham, most children in this situation never receive information about available resources, information that could assist with housing, job opportunities, and tuition grants for higher education.
The website lists dire statistics about the path of emancipated foster children: "According to the Child Welfare League of America, 25 percent become homeless, 56 percent are unemployed, 27 percent of male children end up in jail."
Currently, the new organization's activities mostly center around arranging workshops for children aging out of foster care in the age groups of 15 - 17, or recently emancipated adults between the ages of 18 - 24. These workshops focus on a variety of life skills, such as learning how to manage stress and emotions, set up bank accounts, and dress for interviews. "These are things that may seem obvious to you, but for them they are not....Most kids coming out of foster care are not educated, they have system hopped from foster care, group homes, or been incarcerated," said Cunningham. "They need to be taught these skills."
Cunningham leads most of the workshops herself, but sometimes seeks the help of professionals, such as arranging for a Rutgers faculty member to talk about the process of applying for college, or staff members from local banks to discuss financial literacy.
In the future, Cunningham would like to raise the funds to create a group home for older children. For now though, the organization is still focusing on gathering available resources for foster children. Having worked in the New York foster care system, the New Jersey laws and resources are considerably more complicated by comparison, and the organization's first goals are to understand and compile the available resources to help the children.
URS was recently awarded a $500 stimulus micro-grant from Investing In Women, a group that empowers women with small businesses or non-profits. The money will be used toward marketing URS, says Cunningham. "There are a lot of people who don't know about this need, and we are on a mission to raise awareness."
URS is welcomes donations for their services and programs, as well as dedicated volunteers to serve as mentors.
Baristanet, Nov. 24, 2009.
Tanisha Cunningham knew too well how difficult the transition from foster care to emancipation can be. Having been raised in foster care and group homes herself, the sudden transition to independence was jarring. "The fact that I succeeded is not the usual case. It was not because I was given the resources, but because I sought them out for myself."
Her own experience in foster care inspired her to work in the New York City Child Welfare Office and to later pursue advanced degrees in Public Administration. In January 2009, she started The Underground Railroad to Success, Inc., a Montclair-based non-profit designed to provide resources to children transitioning out of the foster care system. According to Cunningham, most children in this situation never receive information about available resources, information that could assist with housing, job opportunities, and tuition grants for higher education.
The website lists dire statistics about the path of emancipated foster children: "According to the Child Welfare League of America, 25 percent become homeless, 56 percent are unemployed, 27 percent of male children end up in jail."
Currently, the new organization's activities mostly center around arranging workshops for children aging out of foster care in the age groups of 15 - 17, or recently emancipated adults between the ages of 18 - 24. These workshops focus on a variety of life skills, such as learning how to manage stress and emotions, set up bank accounts, and dress for interviews. "These are things that may seem obvious to you, but for them they are not....Most kids coming out of foster care are not educated, they have system hopped from foster care, group homes, or been incarcerated," said Cunningham. "They need to be taught these skills."
Cunningham leads most of the workshops herself, but sometimes seeks the help of professionals, such as arranging for a Rutgers faculty member to talk about the process of applying for college, or staff members from local banks to discuss financial literacy.
In the future, Cunningham would like to raise the funds to create a group home for older children. For now though, the organization is still focusing on gathering available resources for foster children. Having worked in the New York foster care system, the New Jersey laws and resources are considerably more complicated by comparison, and the organization's first goals are to understand and compile the available resources to help the children.
URS was recently awarded a $500 stimulus micro-grant from Investing In Women, a group that empowers women with small businesses or non-profits. The money will be used toward marketing URS, says Cunningham. "There are a lot of people who don't know about this need, and we are on a mission to raise awareness."
URS is welcomes donations for their services and programs, as well as dedicated volunteers to serve as mentors.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
New York Life Foundation Seeks Proposals from New York City and Westchester Nonprofits Serving Children
Since 2004, the New York Life Foundation Awards Program has supported smaller nonprofits by providing six $25,000 grants per year: one in each New York City borough and one in Westchester County, NY. These grants are earmarked for one-time-only support for existing programs.
Can you apply for a Foundation Awards Program grant? Yes, if:
- Your program is located in and serves young people in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, or Westchester County in New York.
- The total budget for your organization is $5 million or less.
- Your organization is a 501(c)3 and has at least two full-time staff members.
- Your program serves disadvantaged youth, including those who are in foster care or aging out of foster care, are homeless, or are neither in school nor working.
- Your program prepares young people for higher education or the workplace and equips them to be responsible citizens. Program activities should enrich academic performance and educational commitment; provide a foundation in basic skills, such as reading, writing, mathematics and science, and enhance thinking skills, such as decision-making, problem-solving and reasoning.
Apply from October 1 to December 15, 2009
Can you apply for a Foundation Awards Program grant? Yes, if:
- Your program is located in and serves young people in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, or Westchester County in New York.
- The total budget for your organization is $5 million or less.
- Your organization is a 501(c)3 and has at least two full-time staff members.
- Your program serves disadvantaged youth, including those who are in foster care or aging out of foster care, are homeless, or are neither in school nor working.
- Your program prepares young people for higher education or the workplace and equips them to be responsible citizens. Program activities should enrich academic performance and educational commitment; provide a foundation in basic skills, such as reading, writing, mathematics and science, and enhance thinking skills, such as decision-making, problem-solving and reasoning.
Apply from October 1 to December 15, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Author of Cheetah Girls series grew up in foster care
'The Cheetah Girls' creator talks to EWN
7Online.com, September 05, 2009.
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Deborah Gregory is an inspiration to many.
Homeless on the sidewalks of Brooklyn at the age of three, she was separated from her mother and became a ward of the state. Now, she's a best-selling author, famous for her creation of "The Cheetah Girls" phenomenon and her second book of the "Catwalk" series is out next week. Deborah Gregory spoke to Eyewitness News about growing up in foster care and her books.
You grew up in the foster care system. While all such experiences are different, what was it like for you?
Mine was in the 25 percentile-children who are placed in high risk situations. It's a complicated system so there is no one to point the finger at. My first foster mother was illiterate. She couldn't read or write one letter of the alphabet. The hardest part of course is the aftermath. Trying to sort out what happened. I didn't know where my mother was, or how I ended up in the system. When I became a journalist, a contributing writer for ESSENCE magazine, I began trying to sort it out.
You aged out of the foster care system at 18. What was crucial in piecing together your life?
I had so many HOLES. It was important for me to try to figure out to the best of my ability-exactly what happened. How did I end up in foster care? Where was my mother? After ten long years of searching for answers, I was able to find some closure. My mother was evicted, homeless with three children. We then became wards of the state. Her three children became wards of the state and we were separated-placed in different children's centers. I later found out that there were two other children. I don't know one of my siblings. The other is dead. Most importantly, I searched for my mother. I found out that she was committed to a mental institution. I got a court order and was allowed to see her records at Central Islip Mental Institution in Long Island where she had been committed for nine years. I got from there the most important thing I could get: a small, black and white photo of her from the folder!
Can you ever really heal from childhood trauma?
No, you cannot. It is a movie myth that you just "move on." You cannot leave your past behind. What it means to be a human being is to be a fleshy part of the past, present and future. This is what shapes you. There is not a day that goes by I don't think about what my experiences were growing up in foster care. About my missing mother. Or about the father I never knew. At least I'm honest and don't pretend. The cracks remain-what I try to do is repair the cracks to the best of my ability. Thanks to therapy, I was able to do a decent job at that-but that's all-just decent. I'm still and will always remain a wounded person with lots of holes and strength and sadness and humor. In other words, a typical New Yawker! I did not grow up in a foster home on a farm in Maine like someone I know and adore (Victoria Rowell). Growing up in the foster care system in marginal foster homes in New York City was far more wicked-every kind of craziness coming at you-I mean, walking down the street to the store was like surviving an episode of Animal Kingdom without the safari gear!
What would you like to resolve?
There are millions of people walking around the globe who do not know who their father is. It creates such a hole. At some point, I was told that I was biracial, although I didn't believe it, but the denial finally lifted when I got a DNA test and discovered that it was true. I have 48 percent European DNA. So, I always wanted to know the ethnic heritage of my father. Thanks to DNA testing, I was able to confirm that he was white (European DNA) but that's all they could tell me. If it had been my mother who was white (mitochondrial DNA) they could have told me the region of my maternal ancestors. It leaves a hole inside of course when you don't know who your father is. No name. No photo. No history. I wish the world would institute a global DNA bank-where everyone had to put their DNA into a bank, then this way whenever someone wanted to find people related to them, they could. Unlike the search through adoption records, you wouldn't even have to know the name of the person-just submitting your DNA would provide the match-because there is always someone in the world who is related to you. We are all connected. So all those people who are related to my father, I never got to meet. It would have been cool.
This month, I became a bone marrow donor. It's possible through HLA tissue typing that they will be able to tell me POSSIBLY the ethnic group of my father. I have to wait six weeks. I hope I find out! That will be so cool-to finally know my birth father's ethnic heritage!
What's the inspiration behind your teen series Catwalk?
Fashion! On a recent AOL study, fashion designer was in the TOP TEN category of dream careers. And there practically isn't a girl alive who doesn't fantasize about what it would be like to be a MODEL. I was a model-for one glorious year-and wish I had the emotional stamina to have pursued it, but the aftermath of growing up in foster care overwhelmed my life.
CATWALK shows the inner workings of the fashion world. Like with Cheetah Girls, I envision CATWALK in a synergistic way: I see the characters in the books, but I see them on the screen, the style and even the opportunity to empower teens through runway lessons and live fashion show events. That's how I think&Fashion is a global force-it's a way to bring multi-culturism into the forefront-my characters are from all parts of the globe-and I'm glad I got to create a few gay teen characters too as they are an essential part of any fashionable tale. One of the CATWALK characters, Nole Canoli, was inspired by my close friend, Nole Marin, who is a fashion stylist and former judge on America's Next Top Model. He was also on the ABC show True Beauty. I can't wait to see that character come to life on screen-prancing around with his thick black Gucci glasses on his pudgy face-and carrying his pooch Countess Coco in his Prada bag!
In CATWALK, the characters have their own glossary of words. What is a FELINE FATALE?
It's a girl who worships at the altar of pinkdown-because pink is not just a color, it's a cat=itude. It's a girl who never says goodbye to HELLO KITTY and wears her catty style with confidence!
The Cheetah Girls was an international onscreen success. Are there any plans To bring CATWALK to TV?
YES! CATWALK has been optioned by TEEN NICK network for a TV series! Like the Cheetah Girls, the CATWALK characters are destined to have an onscreen shelf life&And I'm delirious that the TEEN NICK network is so excited about it. They are the perfect network for it-they have a built in fan base with teens-many of whom are avid DeGrassi fans--I can't count the number of Cheetah Girls fans who are obsessed with DeGrassi. They love it. Also, TEEN NICK depicts real teens-and that's what I'm aiming for-a campy, multi-cultural and fashionable platform. Development is what it is, but I can only keep my fingers crossed that the diverse CATWALK characters will get their day onscreen. They deserve it! It took five years for the first Cheetah Girls movie to find its way onscreen. TV and film development is a long process-and I plan on kissing a lot of catnip and crosses to keep my strength up&.!
This time around though, I will serve as executive producer and co-write the pilot with Jacob Epstein, who was an EP on SHARK and WITHOUT A TRACE. His wife, Susie Norris Epstein, for VP of SERIES for Disney Channel, pursued vigorously to snag the rights to the Cheetah Girls. So she is also attached and I really dig her style and sense of family dynamics. She's a dedicated mother and tres stylish and funny. When you're dealing with something like fashion, there is nothing better than bringing the story alive on the screen. Sashay, parlay!
Were fans upset that Raven did not reprise her beloved role as Galleria Garibaldi in the third movie sequel, `Cheetah Girls: One World?'
They were so disappointed that my computer froze from all the sad emails! The avalanche of response from fans everywhere I go is palpable. And we're talking about children, so they really don't understand reality. The truth is, when a talent becomes closely related to a beloved character-such as Galleria Garibaldi, the leader of The Cheetah Girls-you shouldn't disappoint. Just dust off the debris and don't disappoint the fans! Simply put, Raven could have done the third movie-and went back to crafting her master plan for "solo'' stardom. Even Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall put aside their differences to go on the stroll-again-in their well-worn Manolos to film the movie version of "Sex and The City.'' But, here you have a young black actress-singer, who has an even bigger responsibility to her fans because she is an even bigger role model because of the limited opportunities that Black actresses are given to create such memorable characters--and what does she do: opt out of the third Cheetah Girls sequel, so she could do, what? "College Road Trip''? Puhleese-fire the psychic who advised steering her star vehicle on that "road-less-traveled'' to the box office because, "knock, knock'': her crystal ball is cracking, hello! Of course, I wish her well, but the rule of the Hollywood jungle is simple: once a cheetah, always a cheetah--so show their spots!
What's in for fashion for fall?
Pink Cheetah! It's always in. And short booties worn with footless textured tights. Headbands are skinnier and skirts are not as short as last year. So give those micro minis to a toddler consignment store. Maxi coats are in for winter worn with fur pom=pom hats-preferably pink ones.
What's in store for the CATWALK series?
The second book in the series - CATWALK: STRIKE A POSE will hit bookstores on September 8. Visit Cheetahrama
More about Deborah: For Deborah Gregory, a best-selling author and award-winning writer who had contributed to Essence, Redbook, Entertainment Weekly, Vibe and More, survival was crucial. Homeless on the sidewalks of Brooklyn at age three with her single mother and two sisters, Gregory was separated from her family and became a ward of the State. She spent her childhood in the New York City foster care system under ACS until she aged out of the system at 18. Upon becoming a journalist, in 1990 she spent a large portion of her career searching for the mother who was committed and piecing together the puzzle of her early years and a painful family legacy. She channeled her pain into writing, creating diverse characters that would empower and unite tween and teen girls across the country.
"The Cheetah Girls" unprecedented franchise success for the Disney Channel began with the airing of the first Cheetah Girls movie in 2003. Within two years of the movie's debut, the fictional group gained a staggering global fan base, topped the soundtrack charts with a double-platinum soundtrack and enjoyed a highly-rated DVD release. In 2006, "The Cheetah Girls 2" made its debut and was the #1 basic cable movie that year among kids 6-11 and tweens 9-14.
The CATWALK series has officially been optioned by The N (which will be renamed TeenNick in the fall) for development. Girls across the U.S. will fall in love once again with Gregory's dynamic and diverse urban characters who represent survival.
Gregory will also serve as the television series' executive producer and co-write the pilot episode with TV veteran scribe Jacob Epstein ("Shark" and "Without A Trace"). Susie Norris-Epstein also serves as the series Executive Producer. Norris-Epstein was Vice President, Series Television for the Disney Channel, where she was responsible for developing the smash hit, Lizzie McGuire, which launched the career of teen star, Hillary Duff, and discovered The Cheetah Girls book series before its initial publication in 1999, snagging the dramatic rights in the process.
Gregory's Catwalk deal with The N was brokered by Lauren Heller Whitney of the William Morris Endeavor Entertainment and attorney, Lisa Davis, a senior partner at Kurnit, Klein, Selz law firm in New York City.
7Online.com, September 05, 2009.
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Deborah Gregory is an inspiration to many.
Homeless on the sidewalks of Brooklyn at the age of three, she was separated from her mother and became a ward of the state. Now, she's a best-selling author, famous for her creation of "The Cheetah Girls" phenomenon and her second book of the "Catwalk" series is out next week. Deborah Gregory spoke to Eyewitness News about growing up in foster care and her books.
You grew up in the foster care system. While all such experiences are different, what was it like for you?
Mine was in the 25 percentile-children who are placed in high risk situations. It's a complicated system so there is no one to point the finger at. My first foster mother was illiterate. She couldn't read or write one letter of the alphabet. The hardest part of course is the aftermath. Trying to sort out what happened. I didn't know where my mother was, or how I ended up in the system. When I became a journalist, a contributing writer for ESSENCE magazine, I began trying to sort it out.
You aged out of the foster care system at 18. What was crucial in piecing together your life?
I had so many HOLES. It was important for me to try to figure out to the best of my ability-exactly what happened. How did I end up in foster care? Where was my mother? After ten long years of searching for answers, I was able to find some closure. My mother was evicted, homeless with three children. We then became wards of the state. Her three children became wards of the state and we were separated-placed in different children's centers. I later found out that there were two other children. I don't know one of my siblings. The other is dead. Most importantly, I searched for my mother. I found out that she was committed to a mental institution. I got a court order and was allowed to see her records at Central Islip Mental Institution in Long Island where she had been committed for nine years. I got from there the most important thing I could get: a small, black and white photo of her from the folder!
Can you ever really heal from childhood trauma?
No, you cannot. It is a movie myth that you just "move on." You cannot leave your past behind. What it means to be a human being is to be a fleshy part of the past, present and future. This is what shapes you. There is not a day that goes by I don't think about what my experiences were growing up in foster care. About my missing mother. Or about the father I never knew. At least I'm honest and don't pretend. The cracks remain-what I try to do is repair the cracks to the best of my ability. Thanks to therapy, I was able to do a decent job at that-but that's all-just decent. I'm still and will always remain a wounded person with lots of holes and strength and sadness and humor. In other words, a typical New Yawker! I did not grow up in a foster home on a farm in Maine like someone I know and adore (Victoria Rowell). Growing up in the foster care system in marginal foster homes in New York City was far more wicked-every kind of craziness coming at you-I mean, walking down the street to the store was like surviving an episode of Animal Kingdom without the safari gear!
What would you like to resolve?
There are millions of people walking around the globe who do not know who their father is. It creates such a hole. At some point, I was told that I was biracial, although I didn't believe it, but the denial finally lifted when I got a DNA test and discovered that it was true. I have 48 percent European DNA. So, I always wanted to know the ethnic heritage of my father. Thanks to DNA testing, I was able to confirm that he was white (European DNA) but that's all they could tell me. If it had been my mother who was white (mitochondrial DNA) they could have told me the region of my maternal ancestors. It leaves a hole inside of course when you don't know who your father is. No name. No photo. No history. I wish the world would institute a global DNA bank-where everyone had to put their DNA into a bank, then this way whenever someone wanted to find people related to them, they could. Unlike the search through adoption records, you wouldn't even have to know the name of the person-just submitting your DNA would provide the match-because there is always someone in the world who is related to you. We are all connected. So all those people who are related to my father, I never got to meet. It would have been cool.
This month, I became a bone marrow donor. It's possible through HLA tissue typing that they will be able to tell me POSSIBLY the ethnic group of my father. I have to wait six weeks. I hope I find out! That will be so cool-to finally know my birth father's ethnic heritage!
What's the inspiration behind your teen series Catwalk?
Fashion! On a recent AOL study, fashion designer was in the TOP TEN category of dream careers. And there practically isn't a girl alive who doesn't fantasize about what it would be like to be a MODEL. I was a model-for one glorious year-and wish I had the emotional stamina to have pursued it, but the aftermath of growing up in foster care overwhelmed my life.
CATWALK shows the inner workings of the fashion world. Like with Cheetah Girls, I envision CATWALK in a synergistic way: I see the characters in the books, but I see them on the screen, the style and even the opportunity to empower teens through runway lessons and live fashion show events. That's how I think&Fashion is a global force-it's a way to bring multi-culturism into the forefront-my characters are from all parts of the globe-and I'm glad I got to create a few gay teen characters too as they are an essential part of any fashionable tale. One of the CATWALK characters, Nole Canoli, was inspired by my close friend, Nole Marin, who is a fashion stylist and former judge on America's Next Top Model. He was also on the ABC show True Beauty. I can't wait to see that character come to life on screen-prancing around with his thick black Gucci glasses on his pudgy face-and carrying his pooch Countess Coco in his Prada bag!
In CATWALK, the characters have their own glossary of words. What is a FELINE FATALE?
It's a girl who worships at the altar of pinkdown-because pink is not just a color, it's a cat=itude. It's a girl who never says goodbye to HELLO KITTY and wears her catty style with confidence!
The Cheetah Girls was an international onscreen success. Are there any plans To bring CATWALK to TV?
YES! CATWALK has been optioned by TEEN NICK network for a TV series! Like the Cheetah Girls, the CATWALK characters are destined to have an onscreen shelf life&And I'm delirious that the TEEN NICK network is so excited about it. They are the perfect network for it-they have a built in fan base with teens-many of whom are avid DeGrassi fans--I can't count the number of Cheetah Girls fans who are obsessed with DeGrassi. They love it. Also, TEEN NICK depicts real teens-and that's what I'm aiming for-a campy, multi-cultural and fashionable platform. Development is what it is, but I can only keep my fingers crossed that the diverse CATWALK characters will get their day onscreen. They deserve it! It took five years for the first Cheetah Girls movie to find its way onscreen. TV and film development is a long process-and I plan on kissing a lot of catnip and crosses to keep my strength up&.!
This time around though, I will serve as executive producer and co-write the pilot with Jacob Epstein, who was an EP on SHARK and WITHOUT A TRACE. His wife, Susie Norris Epstein, for VP of SERIES for Disney Channel, pursued vigorously to snag the rights to the Cheetah Girls. So she is also attached and I really dig her style and sense of family dynamics. She's a dedicated mother and tres stylish and funny. When you're dealing with something like fashion, there is nothing better than bringing the story alive on the screen. Sashay, parlay!
Were fans upset that Raven did not reprise her beloved role as Galleria Garibaldi in the third movie sequel, `Cheetah Girls: One World?'
They were so disappointed that my computer froze from all the sad emails! The avalanche of response from fans everywhere I go is palpable. And we're talking about children, so they really don't understand reality. The truth is, when a talent becomes closely related to a beloved character-such as Galleria Garibaldi, the leader of The Cheetah Girls-you shouldn't disappoint. Just dust off the debris and don't disappoint the fans! Simply put, Raven could have done the third movie-and went back to crafting her master plan for "solo'' stardom. Even Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall put aside their differences to go on the stroll-again-in their well-worn Manolos to film the movie version of "Sex and The City.'' But, here you have a young black actress-singer, who has an even bigger responsibility to her fans because she is an even bigger role model because of the limited opportunities that Black actresses are given to create such memorable characters--and what does she do: opt out of the third Cheetah Girls sequel, so she could do, what? "College Road Trip''? Puhleese-fire the psychic who advised steering her star vehicle on that "road-less-traveled'' to the box office because, "knock, knock'': her crystal ball is cracking, hello! Of course, I wish her well, but the rule of the Hollywood jungle is simple: once a cheetah, always a cheetah--so show their spots!
What's in for fashion for fall?
Pink Cheetah! It's always in. And short booties worn with footless textured tights. Headbands are skinnier and skirts are not as short as last year. So give those micro minis to a toddler consignment store. Maxi coats are in for winter worn with fur pom=pom hats-preferably pink ones.
What's in store for the CATWALK series?
The second book in the series - CATWALK: STRIKE A POSE will hit bookstores on September 8. Visit Cheetahrama
More about Deborah: For Deborah Gregory, a best-selling author and award-winning writer who had contributed to Essence, Redbook, Entertainment Weekly, Vibe and More, survival was crucial. Homeless on the sidewalks of Brooklyn at age three with her single mother and two sisters, Gregory was separated from her family and became a ward of the State. She spent her childhood in the New York City foster care system under ACS until she aged out of the system at 18. Upon becoming a journalist, in 1990 she spent a large portion of her career searching for the mother who was committed and piecing together the puzzle of her early years and a painful family legacy. She channeled her pain into writing, creating diverse characters that would empower and unite tween and teen girls across the country.
"The Cheetah Girls" unprecedented franchise success for the Disney Channel began with the airing of the first Cheetah Girls movie in 2003. Within two years of the movie's debut, the fictional group gained a staggering global fan base, topped the soundtrack charts with a double-platinum soundtrack and enjoyed a highly-rated DVD release. In 2006, "The Cheetah Girls 2" made its debut and was the #1 basic cable movie that year among kids 6-11 and tweens 9-14.
The CATWALK series has officially been optioned by The N (which will be renamed TeenNick in the fall) for development. Girls across the U.S. will fall in love once again with Gregory's dynamic and diverse urban characters who represent survival.
Gregory will also serve as the television series' executive producer and co-write the pilot episode with TV veteran scribe Jacob Epstein ("Shark" and "Without A Trace"). Susie Norris-Epstein also serves as the series Executive Producer. Norris-Epstein was Vice President, Series Television for the Disney Channel, where she was responsible for developing the smash hit, Lizzie McGuire, which launched the career of teen star, Hillary Duff, and discovered The Cheetah Girls book series before its initial publication in 1999, snagging the dramatic rights in the process.
Gregory's Catwalk deal with The N was brokered by Lauren Heller Whitney of the William Morris Endeavor Entertainment and attorney, Lisa Davis, a senior partner at Kurnit, Klein, Selz law firm in New York City.
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