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Speeches
Good afternoon, Chairman De Blasio. I want to thank you for hosting this hearing.
The May 20 th death of three-month-old Colesvinton Florestal is a horror. All of us in City government should be outraged and ashamed by the systemic failings that allowed his murder to happen.
But our outrage and shame will mean nothing if we do not take a cold, hard look at those failings and take the opportunity right here and now to correct them.
When Colesvinton Florestal was beaten to death, he weighed less than when he was born. He was dehydrated, malnourished, and had numerous broken bones.
A maintenance worker at the shelter where Colesvinton lived with his family says he expressed concern for the child’s condition to a social worker on the site. Shelter staff are ‘mandated reporters’ required by law to report suspected abuse or neglect to the State Central Register of child abuse. No such report was ever filed.
The social worker in this case denies any knowledge of the case, but we must not lose sight of the larger point: the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) must train shelter staff to identify cases of abuse or neglect and to inform the appropriate authorities so that the behavior stops.
It’s difficult to say which is more disturbing: the allegation that a social worker failed to report a case of severe abuse, or the possibility that this social worker didn’t notice the abuse was taking place.
In either case, the buck must stop with DHS.
DHS was never aware that the Administration for Children’s Services ( ACS ) had investigated Colesvinton’s mother nine times for abuse or neglect of her older son and that three of these cases had been confirmed. This institutional ignorance is sickening and inexcusable.
But sickening and inexcusable though it is, the lack of communication and coordination between ACS and DHS should not come as a surprise.
For years, my office has monitored the deaths of children in the care of the City. For years, we have called on all the agencies involved in caring for children, including ACS and DHS, to better coordinate their services so no child falls through the cracks.
Unfortunately, children continue to die in circumstances that make the term “shelter” seem like a cruel joke.
For 2003, my office knows of 51 non-foster-children whose deaths are linked to suspected abuse or neglect. Of those, 12 (or 24%) lived in shelters or in apartments the parents secured through the shelter system.
The 15,000 children involved in the shelter system represent less than one percent of all children in New York City . Yet these children make up 24% of the deaths linked to suspected abuse or neglect.
It is obvious that this higher proportion of child fatalities in the shelter system is related to the higher proportion of domestic violence, joblessness, mental illness, and drug abuse among the homeless population. All these factors are predictors of child abuse and neglect. Homelessness itself is a stressor that can put a family at risk.
And it is true that the City agencies involved could not have prevented every one of the 12 child deaths in the shelter system this past year.
But there is little doubt that ACS and DHS are not doing everything they can to prevent the death of children in their care. The failure to coordinate services and share information is not peculiar to the case of Colesvinton Florestal.
In 2003, DHS did not inform ACS that a mother and child who were victims of domestic violence had moved out of a City shelter without signing out. They had moved back into the home of the abusive father, and the child died under suspicious circumstances, alone in the home with the abuser.
Five of the 12 deaths in the shelter system last year were caused by or related to sleeping position. In one case, a mother who had spent at least three years in the shelter system was unfamiliar with the dangers of co-sleeping. In another case, the crib in the family’s shelter didn’t even have a mattress.
In Failed by the System , my January 2004 report on child fatalities, I called on the City to teach proper sleeping position for infants to all City personnel and contract agency personnel who serve children. Clearly, this life-saving information has not been conveyed to DHS and its contract agencies in a systematic way.
The lack of communication between ACS and DHS is not the only example of City agencies failing to work together to protect children.
ACS has a poor track record of building inter-agency relationships to address the medical needs of children in its care.
Parents seeking to secure housing and reunify with their children in foster care get stuck in a nightmarish catch-22: ACS makes quality housing a condition of reunification. The Human Resources Administration (HRA) does not consider children in foster care when determining a parent’s eligibility for assistance. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), using this bad information, refuses to issue a housing voucher.
HRA and ACS have yet to develop a set of policies and procedures to ensure that grandparents caring for their grandchildren get all the financial aid and support services to which they are entitled.
The City must answer some serious questions today:
Do DHS staff check for open ACS cases with every intake? If so, what is done with the information? If not, why not?
Do DHS and ACS have policies and procedures in place to ensure that families in the shelter system are consistently and appropriately referred to preventive services? If not, why not?
Are DHS staff and shelter staff qualified or trained in identifying and responding to suspected child abuse and neglect? If not, why not?
Does DHS provide shelter staff with training and information regarding their responsibilities as mandated reporters? If not, why not?
Does DHS provide shelter staff with training and information regarding the proper sleeping position for infants? If not, why not?
As important as it is that we ask tough questions today, it is even more important that we seize the opportunity to act. The death of any child in the City’s care is an emergency that requires an urgent response. Anything less is unacceptable.
With that in mind, I will reiterate some of the recommendations from my 2004 report.
First, it is essential that all City agencies involved in caring for children share information and coordinate services consistently and completely. DHS must check with ACS to determine when a family with a history of abuse or neglect enters the shelter system. DHS must also refer families to the appropriate preventive services so parents get the support they need.
Furthermore, DHS must train shelter staff in their responsibilities as mandated reporters. Never again should a case of abuse or neglect in a New York City shelter go unreported. DHS must also train shelter staff on the proper sleeping position for infants.
To help ensure that action is taken, I intend to introduce legislation requiring DHS to post signs in all City shelters. The signs will indicate the types of behavior that constitute child abuse and neglect, specify who is obligated to report such behavior, and provide instructions for doing so. Additional signs will provide information on the proper sleeping position for infants.
This is a small step, to be sure, but it will be a clear indication that the City will allow no excuses for the abuse or neglect of a child in its care.
In recent weeks, I have contacted Commissioners Bell and Gibbs to discuss the roles of ACS and DHS in preventing any further child deaths. I am disappointed that they have not responded to my requests for a meeting, [and I am disgusted that they have not chosen to participate in this hearing.]
Today, we have faced facts that are difficult to accept or even comprehend. Today, we have asked tough questions and demanded forthright answers. We have expressed our outrage and shame at the senseless death of Colesvinton Florestal. Now, there is nothing left to do but act.
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