NEW YORK CITY ACS DEFENSE LAWYER

In New York, if you are charged with a crime, the state has to prove to a jury that you are guilty. If you sue someone for injuries or a broken contract, a jury decides who wins. Why are juries so central to our system of government? The answer is very simple. Unlike judges, juries answer to no one. Juries don't have to explain their decision or worry about what their boss is going to think of the verdict. Once a trial is over, jurors simply walk out and go on with their lives. This is not true in family court ACS cases.  If the state wants to remove a child from a parent all they have to do is convince a judge. Why are juries not able to decide if a parent is a good parent or not? There is no answer. Juries act as an antiseptic to the legal system. They have nothing to gain or lose from a verdict. They are not perfect but much better than the current system. Let the community judge what is a good or bad parent.

Our clients are often shocked at how many ACS workers visit their home. The reason for this is actually very simple. In Manhattan, there are not enough ACS cases to keep the ACS workers employed. This, ACS workers must " share" cases in order to make it appear as if they are actually accomplishing something. We must remember that ACS workers are mostly concerned about keeping their overpaid position and accusing as many parents of misconduct as possible. The health of the children is really a distant second. This is a rouge agency that is accountable to no one. ACS workers routinely lie in court and court filings and no one will stop them. The only weapon that a parent has is to obtain an attorney as soon as possible and not speak to ACS workers at all.

Because it is so easy to file charges against anyone, and because ACS is so dysfunctional, many people are faced with false charges again and again. These may come from an angry ex-spouse or a school official trying to cover up their own wrong doing. We are often asked what can be done about this. We advise clients to document every single instance and let the ACS officials know exactly who is doing this to them. The ACS worker will often be indifferent. The goal of an ACS worker is to file charges against parents and get them into programs. You can also file charges at your local district attorney's office. Filing a false claim is a crime and can be prosecuted. You can learn more here.

Once ACS has determined that a family is in need of their services, they will hold what is called a Family Safety Confernce. At this meeting the ACS worker and supervisor will tell the parents that they are not capable parents and need to take the services that ACS is offering. It is also at this meeting that the parents will be threatened with court action. It is imperative that the parents obtain an attorney at this point. ACS does not allow attorneys to attend this hearing so an attorney cannot advise the parents at the hearing. Parents should never attend the hearing. This is simply a time where ACS will attack the parent. Stand on your rights and obtain an attorney as fast as possible.

ACS workers have a system where they try and surprise parents with visits at all times of the night and day. They even ask to see the children in the middle of the night. We must understand that these visits are designed to rattle the parent and keep them off Balance. Often the ACS worker is looking for something to attack the parent with. The visits are designed in a way to make the parent fee uncomfortable and make the ACS worker's job easier. Remember the goal of ACS is to keep their jobs and keep the money flowing. Remember to stand up for your rights and request to speak to an attorney.

ACS regularly asks parents to attend what are called family safety conferences. If you are asked to go, DO NOT ATTEND. Typically what happens is an ACS worker and her supervisor will blame the parent and attack him for anything they can conjure up. Then they come up with a safety plan. Almost always they demand that the parent attend services. If you do not follow their demands, the ACS workers will threaten you with court action. Stand on your rights and speak to an attorney before any meeting with ACS.

The right to an attorney is embedded in our constitution both state and federal. In fact, New York law protects this right even more strongly than federal law. Federal law only sets a floor for constitutional rights, states can give more rights if they want to. Thus, a person represented by an attorney may not be questioned by anyone without his attorney present. ACS workers believe that this does not apply to them. Countless times our office is told by ACS workers that the client must speak to them and it does not matter that they have an attorney. We do not know where this thinking comes from but it is wrong and cannot be allowed to cintinue. You will hear from an ACS worker that "we don't talk to lawyers." This is correct, acs workers do not speak to attorneys. So why should a client represented by an attorney speak to an ACS worker? The reason is that ACS workers want to try and find something negative about the parents that they can then turn around and use again...

   The NYPD has a special ACS Unit. These officers are used by ACS to do the dirty work. The officers will forcibly remove children, transport children around and try to get parents to open the door if the parent refuses to let the ACS worker in. This is one of the main tactics that ACS uses. If a parent refuses to let them in, the ACS worker will call the NYPD. The officers then try to convince the parent to open the door. This is done either by intimidation or by assuring the parent that this will be a quick visit. Understandibly, most parents become frightened by the presence of police and allow the ACS worker in the home. Once the worker is in the home, the ACS can start its campaign against the parent. It is crucial to remember that the ACS worker will demand entry into your home based on a completely anonymous call to a hot-line. It is best to stand on your rights and contact an attorney http://www.brooklynacslawyer.com

In cases where the parent has been accused of drug use, the ACS worker will come in and demand that the parent take a drug test. The ACS worker will threaten to take the parent to court if they don't "cooperate". Everything an ACS worker does is based on fear and intimidation of the parent. We always advise clients never to take an ACS drug test. This will give ACS access to your medical records. A parent can instead go to a private provider and take a test if they feel necessary to prove themselves innocent. The ACS worker will threaten you and your family in many different ways. They will accuse you of "hiding" the truth. These tactics can be stopped by simply stating that you are going to speak to an attorney. Do not let ACS intimidate you.

If ACS files a case agains you in Family Court, the judge will assign you a free lawyer called an 18b lawyer. These are lawyers that are paid by the city to represent parents in ACS cases. They will appear in court with you and defend you against the charges. Many of them are excellent. The main complain from many of their clients is that they do not have enough time to prepare their case. There attorneys often carry high caseloads and are doing the best they can.

Often ACS workers want to question children without their parents present. The best way to do this is to go to the child's school and pull him or her out of class. This is incredibly disruptive to the child's day of learning. As a parent you must object to all school officials and make your objection known to everyone. ACS workers to this in order to manipulate the children into saying things that are not true. As a parent you must object in every way.

We are often asked what does ACS have against me in court? The simple answer is anything that they can get their hands on. One of the most important things they try to use is your statements, wether you said them or not. ACS is infamous for lying about statements that clients may have said. That is why it is extremely important not to speak to ACS Without an attorney.  It is very important that you not allow them to lie about you.

Parents are often shocked to learn that their school called ACS and accused them of neglect. Most NYC public schools are very badly run and teachers and administrators are under constant pressure to perform better. Any chance a teacher or administrator has to pass the buck they will take. Once they have called ACS, it is out of the teacher's lap. No matter how minimal an incident is, the politics of NYC education demand that something be done. This is why teachers routinely call ACS on parents. For more information go to brooklynacslawyer.com

If an ACS worker believes that your child is in "imminent risk" they can remove them from your home and ask a judge to place them in the Foster Care. We will now examine who benefits financially from a child being placed in the foster care system. THE FOSTER CARE AGENCY: ACS has contracts with dozens of foster care agencies. These are the first people that line up and receive payment from ACS to manage the foster parent. The question becomes, what is the ACS worker doing while the agency watches the foster parent? Foster care agencies in NYC make millions of dollars every year taking kids away from their parents. THE FOSTER PARENT: Foster parents can be paid about $700.00 a month for each foster child. Other benefits can also be added which can make each child worth thousands of dollars a month. Some foster parents have two or three foster children. You can see how quickly the money adds up. It pays to be a foster parent in NYC. ACS: ACS receives local, state and ...

If you find yourself in Family Coury against ACS it is because ACS filed a petition against you. In this petition you are being accused of child abuse and neglect in some form. ACS will then have to prove to the judge that you are guilty of child abuse. This will involve a trial known as a fact finding in Family Court. It is extremely important to have an attorney at this point that can help you fight the case. You can also go to fightacs.com for more information.

This is the first question that parents ask. The answer is, in New York City, anyone can call ACS on ANYONE. As you are reading this right now I can call the ACS on you and your family and I have never met you. Once ACS receives the call they must see the child. It is at this point that an ACS worker will come to your home and demand to be let in. They may even come with a police officer. Do not fall for these tactics. Go to FIGHTACS. 

The very first thing an ACS worker will tell a family is that they want the family to receive services. The ACS worker will never tell the parents how long or what type of services they are and expect the parent to comply. In reality these "services" are useless therapy or anger management programs administered by a third party whom ACS had a contract with. Do not fall for the trick. The agencies that administer these services are not controlled by ACS in any way. The only thing the ACS worker cares about is writing a report that says they helped a family and put them into services. The parents are then left to deal with an agency who wants to keep them in the services in order to keep getting public funds. A family of four in counseling for a year can make an agency tens of thousands of dollars. This applies also to foster care agencies that make millions of dollars a year snatching children away from their parents. We will discuss that in the next post.