information for practice

This report presents an assessment of the performance of New York City's child welfare system in meeting its responsibilities to investigate and respond to reports of child abuse and neglect; provide services to children and families to prevent children’s entry into foster care whenever possible; provide services to children while in foster care; and ensure that children in foster care exit care in a timely fashion to grow up in permanent families. These are the essential functions of a public child welfare agency. In New York City, the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) is the public child welfare agency responsible for these functions, in conjunction with the New York City Family Court. The child welfare system is funded with a combination of federal, state and local funding. In addition to the state’s role in providing funding, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is responsible for regulating and monitoring the quality of child welfare services statewide and ensuring compliance with federal law. OCFS is also responsible for CONNECTIONS, the automated information system that tracks key data on all children and families served, and runs the hotline that accepts reports of child abuse and neglect.