Beef Up Supervision: Bolster Enforcement Capabilities at ACS

Beef Up Supervision

Bolster Enforcement Capabilities at ACS

The Chief-Leader/Stephanie Shelan 'HAVE TO DO BETTER': In announcing major changes at the Administration for Children's Services, Mayor Bloomberg tells reporters that it is 'a model child welfare agency, but the tragedy of Nixzmary Brown has shown us how much more we still have to do.' Looking on are Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. Mayor Bloomberg Jan. 24 announced a $25 million program to improve the city's response to child abuse and neglect in the wake of the death two weeks earlier of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown, who allegedly was killed by her stepfather after city Caseworkers failed to respond to clear warning signs.

The money, $9 million of which consists of funds reallocated from the existing budget of the Administration for Children's Services, with the remainder to be an increase in funding for the fiscal year that starts July 1, will allow for more intensive oversight of the most serious cases of potential child abuse, and preventive programs in communities where the problem is greatest.

Hire Ex-Cops

Besides paying for 325 additional child protective workers beyond the 200 who recently began training, the funds will permit the hiring of more supervisors to reduce caseloads, and the addition of former cops and prosecutors to strengthen the agency's investigative capabilities.

The Mayor also announced that he was creating the position of Family Services Coordinator, whose occupant, in the style of the city's Criminal Justice Coordinator, would ensure that the affected agencies cooperated and communicated with each other in handling high-risk cases.

"We are not interested in superficial changes," Mr. Bloomberg told reporters during a City Hall press conference attended by the heads of all the agencies that will be involved in the effort, including ACS Commissioner John B. Mattingly, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein.

'Didn't Share Her Urgency'

Referring to the numerous times since last May that school officials, in particular a School Social Worker from P.S. 256 named Margarita Cotto, had contacted ACS about suspicions that Nixzmary was being abused, Mr. Bloomberg said, "Every one of those contacts was a missed opportunity to help her." Despite Ms. Cotto's entreaties, he continued, "that sense of urgency wasn't absorbed by ACS."

Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda I. Gibbs said that after initial conflicting stories between ACS officials and the NYPD about whether Caseworkers in Nixzmary's case had sought to enlist the help of police as part of the joint Instant Response Teams that are used in serious cases, "The workers at ACS confirmed that they did not request an IRT from the Police Department."

While Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, who is prosecuting the criminal case against Nixzmary's stepfather and mother, has recommended that cops be utilized in all child-abuse investigations, Mr. Bloomberg said he had asked that the agencies make recommendations on changes in current response protocols by March 10.

Reviewing All Cases

While that review is taking place, the Mayor added, "We're going through all 10,000 cases [of alleged child abuse] on file to determine if any are falling through the cracks."

Several of the hiring initiatives might alleviate the need to get police more involved by providing greater guidance to Caseworkers. Mr. Mattingly, when asked following the news conference whether he expected police to have a greater role than at present, replied, "I don't think so."

He also told reporters that he wanted to ensure that greater vigilance by his staff did not result in Caseworkers removing children from their homes when not warranted merely because they feared negative repercussions if there was subsequent abuse.

Thirty-five new child protective supervisor jobs are being funded at a cost of $3 million, which Mr. Bloomberg said would allow supervisors' caseloads to be reduced from 240 to 165. "If the manager supervising Nixzmary's case had a lighter caseload, he or she might have had more time to follow up," the Mayor said, alluding to the danger signs that included excessive absences from school, Ms. Cotto's repeated warnings that the girl was being abused, and the appearance of bruises on Nixzmary's face in early December that her stepfather claimed she suffered from a fall while playing.

Offer Better Techniques

The hiring of 20 former cops and prosecutors, who will be spread among ACS's 14 field offices, will allow for improved training of Caseworkers and supervisors in how to investigate abuse allegations, including how to interview family members in a way that they will not feel intimidated by the person committing the abuse.

The administration will also hire 32 attorneys to ensure that ACS is properly handling Family Court cases, as well as offering additional guidance to staff.

Asked about complaints of excessive caseloads among field staff, Mr. Mattingly said that ACS on average was consistently below the national standard of 15 cases per employee. He acknowledged, however, that some Caseworkers may be handling more than the average, and that sometimes the grueling nature of the job takes a toll on employees even if their caseloads are at manageable levels.

Volume Shoots Up

The publicity generated by Nixzmary's death has spurred a large increase in childabuse complaints to ACS this month, Mr. Mattingly added, saying, "We have to get more resources toward the front line so they can deal with this big increase in volume."

According to ACS, there are no current lists for hiring child protective workers, but the new contingent of Caseworkers is not expected to be brought on until July 1.