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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 10, 2007
Contact: Sarah Krauss
(212) 669-4193; (917) 541-0936
Release #: 044-2007
Public Advocate Gotbaum Calls for Immediate Independent Oversight of ACS
- Gotbaum calls for an independent Office of Child Advocate to strengthen system and protect kids -
MANHATTAN - Following the Department of Investigation's new report, which revealed numerous problems with the Administration for Children's Services (ACS) ability to conduct investigations and prevent child fatalities, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum today reiterated her call on the state to create an independent Office of the Child Advocate. The new office would provide permanent, real-time oversight of the child welfare system, including ACS and contract agencies. The State Legislature is currently considering such legislation.
Public Advocate Gotbaum said, “ACS has shown us that they are simply not capable of protecting all of our children. Every time a fatality makes front page news, ACS apologizes and promises change. But their mea culpas have not resulted in enough improvement to keep all our most vulnerable children safe. And Commissioner Mattingly's response that the agency will never be perfect is irresponsible and unacceptable. ACS must do everything within its power to protect every child. If it cannot create a better system, then we need to create a strong, independent agency to step in and ensure we protect our most vulnerable children.”
Public Advocate Gotbaum first called for an independent Office of the Child Advocate following the death of Nixzmary Brown. Over the past 6 years, the Office of the Public Advocate has issued over a half dozen reports chronicling the failures within ACS and recommending steps to strengthen the system.
In the most recent report, released in June 2007, Public Advocate Gotbaum found that the ACS was struggling to perform basic child protective functions, such as conducting timely and thorough investigations, during the year leading up to the tragic death of Nixzmary Brown. The analysis found that while the number of child fatalities investigated by ACS in 2005 remained similar to the previous year, the number of mistakes made by the agency spiked by more than 44 percent.
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