Budget increase to fight child abuse

Last winter, New Yorkers recoiled in horror as newspaper headlines exposed the astonishing tales of pain and suffering endured by children whose cases were well known to New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS).
Calling child abuse and neglect “an insidious, pervasive stain on the fabric of civilized society,” Assemblyman William Scarborough, Chair of the Children and Families Committee, unveiled a $35 million bipartisan budget agreement aimed at making substantive changes to the way New York protects abused and neglected children.
Joining Scarborough at the news conference were Gordon J. Campbell, chief executive officer of Safe Horizons, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, and other law enforcement officials, educators, front-line child protective workers and other child advocates.
“We have come to Safe Horizons, one of the nation’s leading victim assistance organizations, to call attention to the type of comprehensive, creative tools to fighting child abuse and neglect we already have in our state and make sure that programs like this are duplicated all across our state,” commented Scarborough.
“Unfortunately, the governor vetoed a critical component of the package which would provide $5 million for the development of new preventive services to address the needs of families before they become involved in the child welfare system. Children at-risk cannot afford the kind of shortsighted, failed leadership that this governor is showing,” Scarborough said.
Scarborough conducted a series of statewide public hearings earlier this year in Syracuse, Buffalo, and New York City to investigate New York’s ability to protect at-risk children. The bipartisan legislative budget passed last week provides $35 million in critical resources aimed at improving ACS. The budget also increases funding for the state’s child Fatality Review Teams and essential preventive services.
“Each time another tragic story of abuse and neglect hits the headlines, New Yorkers react in horror,” Scarborough said. “The Assembly Majority took an in-depth, investigative look into the child protective system and its ability to protect abused and neglected children. The more we delved into the system, the more broken we found it.”
The Legislature’s budget allocates $6 million to reduce child protective services caseloads, with $5 million going directly towards improving staff-to-client ratios in the child protective workforce within social service districts statewide. However, the Senate majority has shown great reluctance in allowing the state to set standards to ensure the effective use of these new funds across the state.
The remaining $1 million would support a demonstration project in New York City, Westchester and Monroe counties to determine the best practices needed to reduce the child protective workload, including the purchase of new portable information technology, such as laptop computers, cell phones and other work-related tools. The State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) will be required to report to the governor and the Legislature on the effectiveness of these practices.