As retired heads of two of the Metropolis’s main non-profits, who spent a mixed practically 75 years main businesses that labored carefully with the Metropolis’s baby welfare company, we have now seen ACS make large progress over time. We’ve got labored with each Commissioner since ACS was created as a standalone company in 1996 and our expensive buddy, Nicholas Scoppetta, turned its first Commissioner. We’ve got seen tragedies which have damaged our hearts, and taught us many classes. We’ve got additionally seen the success tales of youngsters saved and households thriving. We’ve got seen progress proceed, and in lots of cases, speed up, beneath Commissioner Jess Dannhauser’s management.
The kid welfare system is charged with retaining youngsters secure and supporting households. Getting it proper in each case, for each household, requires compassionate and considerate management.
It requires extremely skilled employees who can assess the protection of youngsters after which make crucial choice there’s—whether or not a toddler must be separated from their dad and mom or whether or not there are helps that may allow the kid to stay safely at house.
Our businesses supplied providers each to the households the place youngsters remained at house, and to these the place youngsters have been eliminated and positioned with us in foster care. Over time, we have now seen main enhancements. Owing to constant and continued investments in coaching and supervision, we have now witnessed a dramatic enchancment within the high quality of apply, significantly these practices associated to assessing security and fascinating youngsters and households. And this isn’t simply our opinion—the info bears this out.
Remarkably, there was a 20% discount over the past 5 years within the variety of youngsters being subsequently abused or uncared for after an ACS intervention. We’ve got additionally seen the variety of youngsters in foster care safely and dramatically lower over the span of our careers, with lower than 7,000 youngsters now in foster care. Youngsters, consequently, are safer and extra more likely to be house than earlier than.
A key contributor to the secure discount in foster care is ACS’s regularly rising investments in efficient household help providers, now reaching over 30,000 youngsters and their households every year. Our businesses have been leaders in growing these providers, along with bringing evidence-based fashions to NYC that have been working throughout the nation. We are able to’t even depend what number of occasions jurisdictions from throughout the nation and the world have reached out to us as they sought to copy the profitable and evidence-based packages we have now in NYC. Regardless of this nationally acknowledged continuum of providers, ACS has appropriately not let up on innovation, persevering with to evolve these preventive fashions primarily based on the most recent analysis and what they’re listening to from households to raised serve communities throughout the Metropolis. Previously yr, ACS has rolled out its new College-based Early Assist Mannequin, which gives providers to households the place they are- in schools- lengthy earlier than a toddler safety intervention is required. That is along with their Household Enrichment Middle growth from 3 Facilities to 30, and the large enhance in households receiving baby care —all of that are upstream interventions that forestall baby abuse from ever occurring.
For many years, we have now advocated for NYC to do extra for youth leaving foster care. As we speak, ACS and its suppliers have led the nation in implementing revolutionary helps that assist youth in foster care thrive. This consists of Honest Futures tutoring and training for over 4,000 younger individuals ages 11 to 26 and Faculty Selection the place now over 400 college students in foster care are attending schools all through the nation free of charge. In brief, extra youth leaving foster care are engaged in and graduating from school than ever earlier than—and as soon as once more jurisdictions from throughout the nation are reaching out searching for to observe our lead.
This progress just isn’t a few single particular person, however within the wake of an outlandish assault on his character and management, we would like New Yorkers to know they’re lucky to have Jess Dannhauser on the helm of ACS. We’ve got recognized and labored with Commissioner Dannhauser for over 20 years. He’s a compassionate and efficient chief. He isn’t a bureaucrat who watches from his workplace. All through his profession, he has all the time been engaged straight with youth, households, communities and his employees—studying what works, what must be strengthened and ensuring his group has the instruments wanted to do the job most successfully.
As former leaders on this work, we all know that nothing is extra heartbreaking and tragic because the demise of a kid. We applaud Commissioner Dannhauser for bringing outdoors consultants to the desk to look at what might be executed to stop tragedies. On the identical time, we can not let sensationalized headlines transfer ACS and the kid welfare system within the unsuitable path. We all know the lasting injury to youngsters and households that consequence from ill-conceived pendulum swings. We should proceed to observe the info, attempt to make the absolute best selections for each household, and spend money on what we all know works in order that we all the time improve the work collectively. And we know- Commissioner Dannhauser is the suitable particular person to proceed to do exactly that.
Fairly frankly, as New Yorkers, we’re fortunate to have him!
Invoice Baccaglini is the previous CEO of the New York Foundling and Sister Paulette LoMonaco is the previous Government Director of Good Shepherd Providers, two of the main non-profit suppliers in NYC.
