Black communities in New York City have long said the city’s child welfare agency has subjected them to an unmatched degree of scrutiny and that their families have borne the brunt of forced separations.
Now, a new analysis of city data by the New York Civil Liberties Union finds that the agency, the Administration for Children’s Services, has furthered racial disparities the group and other advocates say are a hallmark of the child welfare system.
The analysis, which was shared exclusively with Gothamist ahead of its release, also found that Black people are overrepresented in ACS interventions, including emergency removals and family court cases, with the disparities worsening after a suspected maltreatment report is made to the state.
Non-Hispanic Black residents made up less than a quarter of the city’s population between 2017 and 2021, according to the study, but represented 38% of suspected abuse and neglect claims filed with the State Central Register, the official avenue through which maltreatment allegations are transmitted to local child welfare agencies, in fiscal year 2022.
Those parents accounted for 41% of family court cases, with Hispanic and Latino parents following close behind, at 39%, NYCLU says.
Black children made up 51% of removals without a court order and nearly half of foster care entries from family court proceedings in fiscal year 2022.
Zach Ahmad, senior policy counsel at NYCLU and one of the lead researchers, says that while racial bias is at play in the underlying reports of alleged abuse and neglect, the data reveals “disparities in how ACS treats the case once it comes into its hands.”
Map credit: NYCLU
Several accounts of Black parents claiming unfair treatment by ACS have been memorialized over the years in news stories and by advocates seeking to publicize the problem.
A Gothamist investigation last year found the agency continued to scrutinize Black parents’ marijuana use even after New York legalized recreational marijuana…
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