ACS Borrows From P.D. To Monitor Cases

ACS Borrows From P.D. To Monitor Cases

By HOWARD MEGDAL

Mayor Bloomberg announced a number of initiatives taken by Administration for Children's Services to improve the agency's performance, including an information-tracking system modeled after the Police Department's CompStat, in response to the January death of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown.

ACS's version, known as ChildStat, will track child welfare investigations, and use scorecards to evaluate the performance of Caseworkers and their supervisors.

'Learning from Nixzmary'

Details such as the percentage of calls responded to within 24 hours, which was at 96.2 percent in 2005, and which investigations are completed within 60 days will now be monitored.

"We have a responsibility to learn the lessons from Nixzmary's tragic death and apply them so that we do everything possible to keep other vulnerable children safe," the Mayor said at a March 23 news conference. "We are going to give ACS a new set of instruments to measure potential danger to children."

Other city initiatives announced by the Mayor included new "leadership academy" training for supervisors, hiring experienced law-enforcement officers to work directly in ACS field offices, and a pledge to identify neighborhood groups to partner up with to provide additional safety measures.

The measures will be paid for from the additional $16 million the Mayor committed to improve ACS in January.

275 Already Hired

The city has already hired 275 of the 525 additional ACS employees the Mayor authorized in an effort to reduce caseloads by a third. The city's plan is for the reminder to be hired by the end of June.

Of the 525, 20 are law-enforcement professionals to enhance ACS's investigative capabilities, 35 are new child protective supervisors, and 32 are additional attorneys to more efficiently handle Family Court cases. The Mayor also allocated $1 million to hire additional staff for the Leadership Academy.

Charles Ensley, who as president of Local 371 of District Council 37 represents ACS caseworkers, did not return calls seeking comment on the changes.

ACS Commissioner John B. Mattingly praised the changes at the news conference.

"Now, Children's Services can and will do a better job," Mr. Mattingly said, "by investing in, supporting and supervising our child protective workers and managers, and giving them the additional tools and resources they need to make timely decisions at the right time and in the right direction."