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Pushing Cops to Consider Kids When Arresting Parents
While some New York police agencies already avoid having kids witness a parent's bust and take steps to ensure care after Mom or Dad are detained, advocates say want more done to limit the effect of arrests and incarceration on children
Growing Concern Over Broken Adoptions
For more than a decade national child welfare policy has encouraged timely adoptions as way to stabilize the lives of kids in foster care. But the system is challenged when a child's new home proves to be a bad fit.
Adoption Numbers in Question
Sixteen years ago the federal government put new pressure on states to facilitate adoptions. But it never bothered to track how many of those adoptions fail.
Adoption: From an Option to a Mandate
Adoption is a good outcome for many children in foster care. But not every adoptive parent-child combination is meant to be.
One Foster Child's Choice? Not To Be Adopted
S.D. held out hope that her parents would bring her home. That never happened. But avoiding adoption was her choice—and it was a wise one, her lawyer says.
Solutions to Broken Adoptions May Lie in Gray Areas
While there's disagreement among child welfare officials and advocates about all we can do to prevent broken adoptions, there is consensus on a few common-sense steps.
Mixture of Hope and Concern for City's New Daycare Program
The city hopes EarlyLearn will make for higher-quality city-funded daycare. Despite funding shortages and doubts about the way contracts were awarded, some agencies and advocates believe the program has promise.
Life at the Epicenter of Stop-and-Frisk
No precinct saw more police stops in 2011 than the 75th in East New York, and no patrol sector in the 7-5 had more encounters than Sector E. There, realism about crime and resentment of the police go hand-in-hand.
Child Welfare Head: Family Court Crunch Escapes Pols' Notice
In an interview with City Limits, Administration for Children's Services Commissioner Ronald Richter says of the scarce resources in Family Court: “Our issues are often not popular. It takes a lot of effort to draw politicians’ attention.”
From Mom to Not in Seven Minutes: Inside Family Court
City Limits spent months observing Family Court and found an overburdened system where delays were endemic, legal help was scarce and the approach to solving family problems was divided. This is the first chapter in our report.
When Delays Dominate, Kids Lose
Chapter two of our Family Court investigation focuses on the courtrooms that handle custody and child support, where many people try to navigate complex legal lingo without a lawyer, and where running out the clock can be a weapon in warfare between parents.
Blurred Lines Between Advocates and Adversaries
All parties in Family Court are supposed to be fighting for the welfare of the child. But chapter 3 of our Family Court investigation finds that in the adversarial format of a courtroom, players sometimes take on conflicting roles.
Juvenile Justice System Excludes Many Youthful Wrongdoers
New York's juvenile justice system is the target of reform efforts. But to some critics, it's the fact that New York State tries so many teens outside of juvenile court that most needs reform. Chapter 4 in our Family Court investigation.
React, Reform, Repeat: A Round of Change Faces Family Court
In chapter 5 of our investigation of New York City Family Court, we look at past reform efforts and survey judges, lawyers, advocates and parents on how they think the system could be improved.
A Separate System With Special Rules
A lower threshold for judgment, different standards of evidence, a shift in the burden of proof and no Fifth Amendment protection—these and other features of Family Court set it apart from the rest of the legal system.
'Kinship' Approach Shows Promise
New York recently began trying to get more children who were removed from their homes placed in guardianship relationships with other relatives. While there are potential pitfalls, the approach can save time and money.
Q&A with Family Court’s Top Judge
A conversation with Edwina Richardson-Mendelson a one-time lawyer and then a courtroom judge in Family Court who now oversees the city's system.
City Investigating Home for LGBT Youth
Current and former residents of a group home for LGBT youth say physical abuse, sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement were common.
Advocates: '12 Budget Dance Has Heavier Beat
Once again, they're rallying in Brooklyn (and elsewhere) against budget reductions from Washington and City Hall. But after years of austerity, advocates say the annual ritual of protests against proposed cuts has taken on a more urgent tone.
City Probe Uncovered Operator’s Power
After years of complaints about one Bronx real-estate figure, the city housing department issued an unprecedented subpoena. The records it turned up made for interesting reading.
More than 70,000 children enter New York City’s child protective network or juvenile justice system in a typical year. From family court to foster care, secure detention facilities to adoption, child welfare policy is where compelling desires to protect children, respect families and ensure public safety meet—and sometimes clash.
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Report: Shift in Child Welfare Policy Undermined by Budget Moves - Helen Zelon
The IBO depicts a profound change at the Administration for Children's Services, with preventive offerings replacing foster care as the agency's go-to policy. But questionable budget decisions undercut the impact of the shift.
Human Factor Looms Large In ACS System - Helen Zelon
The recent indictment of two Administration for Children's Services workers in the death of a Brooklyn four-year-old has focused new attention on the city's system for detecting and stopping child abuse and neglect. In this interview, City Limits' Helen Zelon explains how legal process and human nature interact in the child welfare system.
Veteran Provider Takes Big ACS Job - Helen Zelon
The Administration of Children’s Services has announced the appointment of Charles Barrios, a licensed psychotherapist with decades of service at Good Shepherd Services in Brooklyn, as Deputy Commissioner for Family Support Services.
EVENTS
A Place at the Table
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
6:00pm -
Word for Word: Dan Savage
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Justice For All: Appleseed at 20
Thursday, June 20, 2013
6:00p - 9:00p
CONVERSATIONS/OPINONS
Don't Forget the Casualties of a Custody War
Child abuse and neglect aren't the only ways parents can hurt children. In high-conflict custody cases, kids are often quiet victims.
To Avoid Broken Adoptions, Avoid Breaking Families
No one's sure how often adopted children end up back in foster care. What is certain is that blood relationships are often too deep or complex for court action to sever them.
Juvenile Justice Reform Leaves Teens Behind
New York stands virtually alone among states in allowing teenagers to be tried as adults and sentenced to adult prisons. Amid a wave of juvenile justice improvements, these children seem to have been forgotten.
Who Cares About New York’s Teen Fathers?
The city's teenaged dads can make a huge difference in the lives of their kids. Yet they are forced to navigate Family Court with little guidance, and must deal with agencies and jurists who know next to nothing about them.
City Policy, Not Corruption, to Blame for Nonprofit's Woes
The former head of Alianza Dominicana responds to a City Limits story about a dispute between the nonprofit's workers and administrators.
MULTIMEDIA
Design Deficiencies and Lost Votes
In 2010, tens of thousands of votes in New York did not count due to overvotes — the invalid selection of more than one candidate. This report demonstrates how the lack of adequate overvote protections disproportionately affected the state's poorest communities, suggests commonsense reforms, and examines national implications.
For Their Own Good
Hundreds of teens are in jail for crimes for which adult offenders would walk. Can the Probation Dept. reform its ways?
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CITY LIMITS EVENTS
Defining Brooklyn Launch
City Limits celebrates the launch of its March 2011 issue: Defining Brooklyn.The 35th Anniversary Celebration
City Limits celebrates its 35th Anniversary at BMCC in Tribeca.Brooklyn Bureau Launch
The Brooklyn Bureau launch as part of Social Media Week 2012.Tackling Poverty
The Tackling Poverty Series at Galapagos Art Space in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn.Tackling Poverty (Manhattan)
City Limits & the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness
