| Releases
& Statements
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
November 28, 2007
Contact: Sarah Krauss
(212) 669-4193; (917) 541-0936
Release #: 068-2007
New Gotbaum Report Finds Jump in Child Fatalities
in City Homeless Shelters
- Gotbaum proposes adding new division to identify families in shelters with multiple red flags -
MANHATTAN – Children in New York City’s homeless shelter system are dying at an alarming rate, especially children in families with a past history with the child welfare system, according to a new analysis released today by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. The analysis, an in-depth look at all of the child fatalities reviewed by New York State’s Office of Children and Family Services for children who died between 2004 and 2006, shows that 20 children died in suspicious circumstances while living with their families in the city’s shelter system – including a 300 percent increase in child fatalities from 2005 to 2006.
Closer analysis of these fatalities reveals that the vast majority of families had past contact with the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). Sixty percent of the families included at least one parent who was known to ACS in previously substantiated cases of abuse, or was under investigation for abuse. Sixty percent of the families included at least one parent who was known to the system as a maltreated child. Only two of the 20 cases involved families with no previous contact with ACS.
Gotbaum is calling for a new shelter division of Child Protective Services, staffed with child protective specialists and veteran law enforcement officers, to respond to reports of abuse and neglect within the city’s homeless shelter system.
Public Advocate Gotbaum said, “When you see children who are at risk, the answer isn’t to point fingers – it is to take common sense steps to protect them. By improving coordination between ACS and DHS, giving city agencies tools to stop abuse, and identifying high-risk families, we can create the real time accountability that saves children’s lives – before tragedy strikes.”
Gotbaum is calling on ACS to track shelter-related child welfare statistics as part of a larger effort to create a risk-based assessment tool. The formula would help city officials identify families with a greater likelihood of risk. The tool would consider past substantiated cases, unsubstantiated cases, and open cases of abuse or neglect. Those cases would then be correlated with other risk factors such as parents known to the child welfare system as maltreated children, documented history of alcohol or drug abuse and a history of co-sleeping with infants.
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