Making a way out of no way.... Thursday, May 25, 2006 By TARESSA STOVALL
of The Montclair Times Tanisha Cunningham’s youth ended with a thud, rather than a bang when she aged out of the foster care system in New York City, and was pushed out on her own with no guidance, resources or assistance for the transition into independent adulthood.
Fortunately, she had graduated from high school and was working full time, so she avoided many of the pitfalls faced by her peers who were aging out of foster care. Now she has graduated from Rutgers University-Newark’s Masters in Public Administration program and determined to ensure smoother transitions for others like her.
‘YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN’
“Aging out” is the term used for children who go into foster care, but are never returned to their families of origin or adopted by others. They stay in the system until they turn 18, or graduate from high school, and for the most part, are left to fend for themselves as best they can.
The Child Welfare League of America reports on their Web site that “approximately 20,000 to 25,000 young people age out of the foster care system each year, many with no family or economic support. Young people transitioning out of the foster care system are significantly affected by the instability that accompanies long periods of out-of-home placement during childhood and adolescence. The experiences of these youth place them at a higher risk for unemployment, poor educational outcomes, health issues, early parenthood, long-term dependency on public assistance, increased rates of incarceration and homelessness.”
“I was in and out of foster care from ages 3 to 12,” said Cunningham, a Montclair resident. “Then I was in a group home until I was 19. Once you aged out, they gave you a subway token and a list of the nearest shelters.”
To this day, she said, “If you can’t go to family members, you’re on your own.”
She wanted to go to college but couldn’t afford it, so, at 18, took an administrative assistant position in the New York Child Welfare Administration, now the Administration for Children’s Services.
That position came from her willingness to speak up and question authority. While being honored at a graduation ceremony for children in foster care who had accomplished a great deal, and told to give a five-minute speech, Cunningham said to the officials, “Now that you’re honoring us, what are you going to do for us? We’ll soon be emancipated out of the system. We don’t have a job, we don’t have a place to live.”
‘TO CREATE A PROGRAM’
Then an aid to Mayor David Dinkins told Cunningham to call his office. That led to a position at Child Welfare, where she worked for nearly a decade as the Senior Executive Assistant to the Commissioner.
“I wanted to stay there because my passion had always been to give back, because I knew the struggles of living in foster care, and the fear of leaving unprepared, not having a place to go or having the skills to obtain a job.”
Wanting to spread her wings, Cunningham went to work for the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). She earned her bachelor’s degree from the Audrey Cohen College for Human Services, now the Metropolitan College of New York. Working and attending school full time, she earned the degree in just 2 1/2 years.
“I didn’t want to stop there,” Cunningham said. “I wanted to get my master’s degree in public administration. I knew I wanted to go back in the field of human services, especially child welfare. But I didn’t want to be a social worker. I wanted to be in a position to make decisions; to have ideas and have them carried out.”
By the time she got into the Executive Masters in Public Administration program at Rutgers-Newark, Cunningham was married and pregnant, but six months after her son was born, she was back at Rutgers, working on her degree. While serving as a Special Assistant to the MTA Police Chief Raymond McDermott, in the Counter-Terrorism Unit, Cunningham nurses her “passion to go back into the child welfare system. “I want to create a program that will help children or young adults aging out of the system to transition into self-sufficiency,” she said. “That is my life's passion.”
Her vision includes creating and running her own program in partnership with one of the child welfare agencies.
“What got me where I am today is the attitude that I hope to share with other children in foster care, that no matter what, you must always press forward and know that giving up is not an option.’
‘A SPECIAL YOUNG WOMAN’
The Executive MPA program at Rutgers-Newark is “fairly rigorous,” said Alan Zalkind, director. “It is really designed for middle- and upper-level managers that have had some experience. Tanisha brought something to the program that was very useful,” he said.
Cunningham’s “beat the odds” attitude and determination impressed Zalkind. “She’s really had to overcome a lot in her life,” he said. “She didn’t come to the table with a lot of resources. But she has an incredible amount of initiative and an incredible amount of drive. Given her skills, she could have chosen to go into the private sector and make a lot of money. But she really wants to do something on behalf of others.
“She’s just a pretty special young woman and she has done a lot in a short amount of time.”
‘NOT PREPARED UNTIL THE END’
Cunningham’s master’s thesis focused on the independent programs that exist in foster care to help students make the transition to independent living. “There are 20,000 youths that leave foster care every year,” she said, “and almost 85 percent leave without being prepared. There is a dire need to help these children.” "My desire is to become the next Harriet Tubman, leading all foster children through the Underground Railroad to Success"
Contact TaRessa Stovall at stovall@montclairtimes.com 12225 |