The Manhattan watchdog agency inspected the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) in June 2015 and revealed disappointing results. The report documented and publicized facts such as the abuse of power by the representatives of the administration in the courts regarding the hearing of domestic proceedings and the failure to provide adequate assistance to those in need, contrary to claims of the opposite situation. Additionally, there was a comment about the wrongful detention of children. Learn more at manhattanka.
It Has Been Over 10 Years Since Then: The Story of Angelo Clement
More than 10 years have passed, but Angelo Clement still clearly recalls the day when a phone call in his home changed his life forever.
The 14-year-old resident of Manhattan, a freshman at Clement High School, was spending that evening alone in his small apartment, where he lived with his mother. Suddenly, the phone rang, breaking the silence. It was a teacher who wanted to speak with Clement’s mother. Unfortunately, she was not home, and Clement politely informed her of this.
Photo source: https://www.theguardian.com/
After 48 hours of waiting for a response from the mother of 14-year-old Angelo Clement, the teacher anonymously contacted the state central registry at the Office of Children and Family Services. She was worried that the boy’s mother might not take care of him. The response was immediate: the case was referred to the city’s ACS, which began an investigation.
For several weeks, child services officers came to Clement’s apartment without warning. Despite the lack of clear evidence of abuse, the case was taken to a Manhattan family court. The prosecutor claimed that Clement’s mother had bipolar disorder and was incapable of caring for her son. A few months later, the court decided to remove Clement from his family and place him under the care of city services. He could reunite with his mother only after four years.
It was only on his 18th birthday that Clement had the opportunity to exit the system, as he was eligible to leave his foster family at that age. A few years later, the young man admitted that he constantly felt scared when he was separated from his biological mother and his home. After all, he did not experience insults, neglect or the struggle with a feeling of potential danger on his home ground.
The story of Angelo Clement is not the only recorded case. The Office of the New York City Public Advocate, along with the city’s oversight agency, started a hotline for all current and former foster children to anonymously reach out and share the difficulties they faced while interacting with New York’s foster care system.
The article will tell the stories of several former foster children or their biological parents whose children were forced to stay in the foster care system. Each of them was frustrated with the ACS system, which highlighted the issue of bureaucracy in the city and its periodic abuses of power in family court. The children did not feel safe in their living environments. Furthermore, in recent years, housing programs for these children did not receive enough funding. The existing situation was not actually addressed but was in a state of constant planning.
Nowhere to Go: The Story of 17-Year-Old Aliana Camacho
At 17, Aliana Camacho first encountered the ACS system. Unlike Clement, she was not a victim of neglect but was seeking refuge from danger. According to Aliana, a family member had subjected her to abuse for many years, prompting her to ask for help from her then-boyfriend’s mother.
At the age of 21, Camacho admitted that she did not feel secure at that time. She suppressed this feeling for many years, but at some point, it became unbearable to endure the situation.
Photo source: https://www.theguardian.com/
Initially, she lived with her older sister, but then she was placed in a foster family in the Bronx. Over the next four years, Aliana changed four different foster families. She said that such instability caused her panic attacks and depression. The ACS workers did not provide her with the necessary support, but there was nowhere else to go.
Camacho entered college in the fall of 2012 while her case was stuck in family court in Lower Manhattan. The court-appointed lawyer, as she said, provided no explanations for the prolonged proceeding. In the spring of 2013, the judge closed the case due to a lack of evidence. Aliana appealed, but the case was closed again in May 2014. She states that her experience in the foster care system was traumatic for her.
Years later, as a student at SUNY New Paltz (the State University of New York at New Paltz), Camacho acknowledges that she’d better never have been connected to this system.
The Story of a 31-Year-Old Single Mother Stuck in Limbo
Latoya James is a single mother from Harlem who tried to regain custody of her two sons. The woman was deprived of parental rights to her children, who were 4 and 5 years old at the time of the family court proceeding. The reason for such a decision was her past mental health issues and occasional substance use. Her case has been ongoing in family court for years, which could lead to the termination of her parental rights. This will enable the state to proceed with the adoption of her children, referring to the permanent neglect by their biological mother.
Photo source: https://www.theguardian.com/
James has fought hard to regain custody of her sons. She diligently completed all ACS parenting courses and even underwent a mental health evaluation. As a military veteran, she approached the mayor’s office of veterans’ affairs, hoping that they would help her get her children back.
James is stuck in this situation and forced to prove to the state that she is worthy of being a mother.
Administration for Children’s Services: A City Agency That Has Fallen Off the Radar
Despite being one of the largest city agencies with over 6,600 employees and a $2.9 billion budget, ACS rarely comes into the public eye. In most cases, ACS representatives refuse to comment on specific cases when they receive inquiries from the public, citing confidentiality laws.
ACS representatives, for their part, claim that there has been significant progress over the past ten years. Indeed, the number of children in foster care has decreased.
Photo source: https://www.newyorkgid.com/
Over the last two decades, the number of children living in foster families in New York has significantly declined. Currently, just over 11,000 children are in the foster care system. About 800 of them reach majority age each year without finding a foster family and move into specialized group homes. 29 foster care agencies contracted with ACS manage these homes.
The family court is a unique body within the legal system of the United States. It is not a criminal court, so the Sixth Amendment Right to a Speedy Trial does not apply to it. As a result, cases can drag on for years without a resolution. A report from the children’s ombudsman shows that 25% of respondents lived in foster care for 3 to 5 years, while 20% were in care for 5 to 10 years. Only in 10% of cases do children return to their biological parents.
On the Path to Reform
Letitia James, a New York City activist, took office in January 2014 and has since been tirelessly advocating for reform in the foster care system. In her interviews, she is not afraid to criticize ACS and the agencies they have contracted with, stating that the system requires radical changes.