| Releases
& Statements
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 11, 2007
Contact: John Collins
(212) 669-4193; (917) 496-4587
Release #: 030-2007
Public
Advocate Gotbaum: How Many Kids Did ACS Expose to Experimental
HIV Drugs?
- Gotbaum calls for an independent Office of Child Advocate to
strengthen system and protect kids -
MANHATTAN
– Public Advocate Gotbaum today renewed calls for an independent
Office of the Child Advocate, pointing to new evidence that the
Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) may have exposed
more than 650 foster kids to experimental HIV/AIDS drugs in the
1990s – nearly a 50 percent increase over previous claims.
Public Advocate Gotbaum said that the ballooning number of children
raises serious questions about the agency’s oversight of
kids in its care.
In
2004, ACS admitted allowing foster kids to be used in experimental
HIV/AIDS tests. Some foster children were given adult doses of
experimental drugs. Some were subjected to experiments without
parental permission or an ACS-appointed guardian. Initially, ACS
said that approximately 50 children were involved in these tests.
However, after ACS did a preliminary review, their number quickly
rose to 465 kids. The updated number, 663, was recently released
by the Vera Institute of Justice, the organization appointed by
ACS to review the use of children in these HIV/AIDS experiments.
The review process is still not complete, and there is no official
deadline.
Public
Advocate Gotbaum said, “How could ACS not know who and how
many kids were involved in these experimental
tests? Their inability to track kids in the system and ensure
their safety raises serious questions. Clearly it’s time
for us to have an independent body with oversight over ACS, so
we can learn about - and fix - problems as they occur, not find
out about them years later.”
Initial
ACS Statement, 2/2004 |
Approximately
90 kids |
Secondary
ACS Statement, 3/2004 |
More
than 100 kids |
Preliminary
ACS Review, 4/2004 |
465
kids |
Latest
Vera Institute Review, 4/2007 |
663
kids |
Next
Vera Institute Review, 7/2007 |
????
|
Public
Advocate Gotbaum has called for the state to strengthen the child
welfare system by creating an Office of the Child Advocate. The
new office would provide permanent oversight of the child welfare
system, including ACS and contract agencies. The State Legislature
is currently considering such legislation.
In
2004, Public Advocate Gotbaum wrote ACS and outlined a series
of questions regarding the number of children that were exposed
to these drugs, whether ACS had the authority to allow these tests
and if the children had representation during the trials.
Just
last week, Public Advocate Gotbaum released a report showing that
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.
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