"This is a world-class disaster," DeCrescenzo told me by phone, noting that GLASS just became the first licensed LGBT adoption agency in the country. Their primary program is providing group homes for 40 LGBT 15-17 year olds, and transitional living for 25 teens between 17-19.
"Where are those kids going to go? The county will tell you they'll place them somewhere. But you tell me - who wants or who knows how to work with trans kids? My guess is that the kids will run away and we'll see them on the streets."
DeCrescenzo says she believes the board filed for Chapter 7 out of fear of their own personal liability because the agency was behind in paying Worker's Comp and with the IRS. But she says an LA County contract check was expected to cover the gap and she could work out a payment plan with the IRS.
Additionally, the reorganization plan would change the group home structure from a "family style" of six beds with two fulltime staff to 12-bed congregate living - hardly ideal but "better than going under."
DeCrescenzo started GLASS Feb. 8, 1984 after working with adolescents as a licensed clinical social worker and a juvenile trainer with the LA County Probation Department and seeing how "horrendously" LGBT kids were treated. Adolescent LGBT homeless runaways busted for minor offenses such as shoplifting or some charge associated with survival sex would be sent to the state's California Youth Authority because, DeCrescenzo says, local facilities refused to accept "overt homosexuals, fire-setters, or youth charged with or convicted of homicide."
"Someone had to do something so I did it," DeCrescenzo says.
A closeted gay man named Ed Boyle (now deceased) started two group homes in Los Angeles the early 80s - but it was harder for him since he lacked DeCrescenzo's professional credibility and there was an intense - though unwarranted - suspicion about him from both the gay and straight communities because of stereotypes of gay men as pedophiles. Without support, he went bankrupt.
DeCrescenzo says it took her a long time to train county departments that there was nothing wrong with leaving "an avowed homosexual alone with children. You leave adult heterosexual men alone with little girls. So why can't a gay man be left alone with little boys?" She found "fairness" under two directors of the LA County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) - one of whom had a transgender person as second in command - but otherwise she had to do "a lot of education."
The state, for instance, sent a social worker into a GLASS group home and challenged whether one young girl was really a lesbian because she had long hair.
In 1996, at a time when social workers, courts, lawyers and activists who deal with youth were trying to circumvent the state law prohibiting gay adoption, the state leveled unsubstantiated charges against GLASS staff and board members, precipitating a "crisis."
"It was a witch hunt. But what was amazing was the readiness of people to believe unsubstantiated charges about child sexual abuse - despite there being no victims and no perpetrators. I was later told by a well-placed informant in [Gov.] Pete Wilson's administration that the order came from high up to 'get GLASS.' My, how times have changed."
DeCrescenzo says that what lead to this current fiscal crisis was nine years of flat funding, increases in Worker's Comp, increases in liability, tremendous increases in health insurance and donor fatigue that made it hard to raise money.
Most of GLASS youth are "abused, abandoned and neglected" and referred through DCFS and the Probation Department. DeCrescenzo estimates that about 300 youth have used GLASS group homes or transitional living for youth who age out of the foster care system. The length of their stay varies from a few days to up to six years. There is a 29 year old who works at GLASS now who started living in a GLASS group home at age 14.
Now DeCrescenzo fears what will happen to those kids. Despite their best intentions, most county facilities have no idea how to deal with LGBT youth "who've been knocked around a bit too much." For instance, she notes that many LGBT kids have "attachment disorders" and have great difficulty living in foster care.
"Sometimes they find it too intimate. Paradoxically, a loving family home stirs up all the old pain and they are reminded that their own families don't love them."
DeCrescenzo chokes up. "My heart is just broken for these kids."
In addition to the LGBT youth displaced by GLASS' Chapter 7 dissolution, about 150 staff will lose their jobs.
Karen Ocamb started her career at CBS News in New York where she clerked for Dan Rather and Bob Schieffer. She eventually became a producer, leaving CBS News after producing coverage of the 1984 Olympics for CBS affiliates.
Karen has produced, hosted and been a guest on many local public affairs shows and contributed to numerous media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, TV Guide Online, The Advocate, The Bilerico Project, and OutQ News on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio. In 2004, Karen was named Woman of the Year by Christopher Street West, organizers of L.A.'s annual LGBT Pride event.
I'm glad we don't have to worry about racism any more. Sean Delonas created this unbelievable cartoon for the New York Post that clearly passed muster with the editors' desk. It portrays commentary on the stimulus bill ("They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill") using a bullet-ridden chimp on the pavement. Who do you think he's referring to? Never mind the fact that the cartoon calls for violence agains the "author" of the bill, who happens to be POTUS. Maybe we progressives are just not in on the joke -- they were really shooting Travis the chimpanzee, who was shot by cops in Connecticut the other day, right?
We already have a spike in racist hate groups out there in the wake of Obama's election; why not add to the pile by endorsing racial stereotypes and violence for knee-slapping entertainment in a major newspaper?
At least we know there are a few human beings in the NYP newsroom; there's apparently a good deal of turmoil over this garbage:
A newsroom employee at The Post, who spoke on condition of anonymity because employees were not permitted to comment on the matter, said its newsroom received many calls of complaints on Wednesday morning after the publication of the cartoon. "Every line was lit up for several hours," the employee said. "The phones on the city desk have never rung like that before." Many Post staff members were dismayed by the cartoon, the employee added.Perhaps some of the McCain/Palin Republican Base can sign up for editorial cartoonist and news desk positions at the New York Post. After all, they were quite creative in the last election cycle, and might have been an influence on Delonas for all we know...it's time to bring out the refresher list.
* The Blend McCain mob files
* McCain campaign worker confesses: made up claim that she was mutilated by black man
* McCain team begins the blame game, and the alien bursts from the GOP's chest 
* The parade of racist images continues: Obama ribs 'n chicken
* California: Sacramento GOP web site calls for the torture of Barack Obama
* Mike Signorile listens to The Hate Out There
* Here we go again: another Palin groupie shouts 'kill him' at PA rally
* Own it, bigot
* Missouri: More of the McCain/Palin/GOP Base
* Frank Rich on the fires stoked by McCain/Palin
* The GOP ticket draws, and apparently embraces, the bigot eruption crowd
* More fun in post-racial America
* John McCain forced to denounce racist, homophobic member of Virginia leadership team
* Kentucky, I know you can do better than this
* FL: middle school teacher uses 'nigger' to describe Barack Obama
* Palin praised racist writer who called for RFK's assassination
* Values at the Values Voter Summit - Obama as a Muslim Aunt Jemima 
* Westmoreland stands by 'uppity' remark about Obama
* White supremacists: Obama's boosting our movement
* John McLaughlin: Obama fits the 'Oreo' stereotype
* Georgia: publication features Obama in crosshairs on cover for article on white supremacist threat
* Bigot eruption: GOP House member refers to Obama as 'boy'
A Daily Kos thread on this is over 750 comments.
UPDATE: Video of Al Sharpton commenting on the cartoon is below the fold.
Via Raw Story:
The Legislature dealt a final blow Wednesday to the Common Ground Initiative, possibly the most expansive push for legal protections for gay and transgender Utahns in state history.A House committee rejected Rep. Jennifer Seelig's HB160, which would have offered two, unmarried cohabiting adults -- including same-sex couples -- rights of inheritance and medical decision making for one another.
But the initiative is not dead, said Mike Thompson, executive director of Equality Utah, the advocacy group leading the charge. Democratic lawmakers have vowed to bring back their bills, with some variations, next year.
To add insult to injury, Utah State Senator Chris Buttars, a homophobe just meant to bed down with Sally Kern to produce Satan's spawn, said this.Sen. Chris Buttars considers the gay-rights movement -- nationally and in Utah -- "probably the greatest threat to America."For that extra dash of spice, Buttars also compared gay advocates to Muslim terrorists and plans to further detail his views on the Utah Senate web site.In an interview with documentary filmmaker Reed Cowan, released by ABC 4 on Tuesday night, Buttars said the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community doesn't want "equality, they want superiority."
"It's the beginning of the end. Oh, it's worse than that. Sure. Sodom and Gomorrah was localized. This is worldwide," the West Jordan Republican said in the interview.
Related:
* Utah: Rhetoric in gay rights debate heating up
Hat tip, peteyPornpig
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