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Child Abuse Deaths Prompt Massive Overhauls
Commissioner John B. Mattingly of New York City's Administration for Children's Services (ACS) recently issued a statement following the occasion of his 1-year anniversary at his post. Among the accomplishments trumpeted was the fact that his agency had “continued the historic decline in the number of New York City children living in foster care — passing the 20,000 mark, the 19,000 mark, and the 18,000 mark, to the current census of nearly 17,300.” Following publicity surrounding the recent deaths of several children in their homes after their families came under ACS's scrutiny — some of them reunited with those families after initially having been taken away and others who arguably should have been separated from their families, but weren't — the social value of this trend has come into question.
The children's stories are now familiar: 16-month-old Dahquay Gillians, once placed in the custody of his mother's relatives after his older brother was scalded by his mother's then-boyfriend, was returned to his mother's home where he drowned when left unattended in his bath. Seven-year-old Sierra Roberts, whose case came under investigated by ACS after doctors became suspicious that injuries she had suffered were signs of abuse, died of internal injuries allegedly sustained after her father beat her over a 2-day period; Nixzmary Brown, dead at the age of 7 after her stepfather allegedly beat her for eating a container of yogurt without permission; and 4-year-old Quachaun Browne, whose family ACS workers visited multiple times, was allegedly beaten to death by his mother's boyfriend after the child knocked over a television set.
To be sure, this is not a new problem. Although the deaths of these four children have garnered massive media attention, many children whose families are being monitored or investigated by ACS die of abuse each year in New York City. This recent spate of highly publicized cases, however, has spurred a push for changes within ACS and altered the pace of child/family separation activities.
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