ABUSE UP FOR ACS CHILDREN
By
Reports
of abuse and neglect of children in city care grew by 12 percent last year, as
parents, advocates and investigators keep closer watch on the municipal
government's long-troubled child-welfare system.
The
number of abuse complaints against foster parents and others asked by the
Administration for Children's Services to look after troubled youngsters grew
to 1,708 in the 2007 fiscal year, up from 1,525 in 2006, city records show.
In
one such case,
Abuse
complaints involving foster parents and other caretakers are investigated by
the ACS Office of Special Investigations, an internal affairs unit that was
revamped two years ago.
Some
362 of the abuse cases reported in 2007 were substantiated by ACS
investigators, meaning that there was enough evidence to take corrective action
or forward information about the cases to district attorneys' offices for
prosecution, city records show.
Last
year's tally of abuse cases showed that 11 kids in city care were sexually
abused, 66 were beaten and one endured psychological abuse.
ACS
officials say they have a tough job dealing with abuse by people hired to care
for children, and note that with 8,000 foster parents in the city caring for
17,000 kids, the rate of substantiated cases is tiny.
Andrew
White, who runs the watchdog group Child Welfare Watch, said the rise in abuse
complaints is due to the retooling of the Office of Special Investigations,
including the hiring of 60 former law-enforcement officers.
"It
shows a higher sense of caution and a more rigorous and intense approach to
investigating," he said.
But
another advocate says greater vigilance by parents angry that their children
were unjustly taken has sparked the rise in abuse complaints against ACS.
"Parents have become more outspoken about the abuse of
their children. People are fighting back," said Rolando Bini, who heads Parents in Action, a grass-roots group.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07212008/news/regionalnews/abuse_up_for_acs_children_120831.htm