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A resume inspires optimism

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Helen Zelon
Helen Zelon
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While it's unclear how long Richter will have to address this litany of concerns, advocates have high hopes that his time at the head of ACS will bring progress. "Ron Richter has been a force for progress throughout the system throughout the years," says Arsham, who has worked in child welfare since 1975. "Richter's decision-making has been courageous—not at all characteristic of what's ordinarily seen on the bench."

Richter enjoys a sterling reputation, earned on all sides of the child-welfare conference table: as the head of Legal Aid's Juvenile Rights Division, as Deputy Commissioner and Family Services Coordinator in two prior stints at the Administration for Children's Services (ACS), and most recently, as a Family Court judge in Queens.

"Ron comes in understanding the system. He takes a different view of the world, because of the experience he's had," Baccaglini says. And Richter's people-savvy, too, Baccaglini adds: "He's very well spoken; he has a good wit, a good presence. He can convey a message with a joke, and nobody's ego is offended."

Heggie adds that Richter is a "problem solver." If so, he's in the right place.