NEW YORK CITY ACS DEFENSE LAWYER

The most common issue is whether a person who has been reported for hold abuse should talk to the ACS worker. The answer is always NO without an attorney. ACS workers are trained to bring cases against parents. They will ask all kinds of questions in order to get parents to enter into services. They also do not record the  conversation in any way. So never speak to an ACS worker without an attorney.

When a case completely falls apart in court, ACS offers what is called an ACD to the parent. This is an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal. This means that if the parent abides by certain ACS demands the case will be dismissed after 6 months or a year. This can be a very tricky offer. It may appear like the parent is getting a break, but in fact, ACS is setting the parent up to fail and violate the terms. Make sure to have your attorney review the terms carefully and understand exactly what ACS is demanding. Brooklynacslawyer.com

This is a common question asked by our clients . The answer is very complicated but we will try and simplify it. ACS is a state agency and because of that they have certain immunity. Than means they can only be sued for certain things. The best way to sue ACS is to hire an attorney that practices in suing state agencies like police departments. These types of lawyers know how to effectively sue these state actors and will be able to best tell you if your case has merit or if its worth pursuing. ACS will try to hide as much evidence as possible and you should have a lawyer who can attack them in effective ways. You can learn more at brooklynacslawyer.com

Parents who cannot afford to hire their own attorney in Family Court in NYC are assigned attorneys to them by the Court. These attorneys are called 18B attorneys and are private lawyers that are paid by the court to represent parents. Many parents have expressed frustration with using 18B attorneys, stating that they do nothing for them. In reality, many of these attorneys are excellent lawyers. The problem arises when they are overwhelmed by cases that they cannot give sufficient time to the client to discuss their case. It is not the fault of the attorneys. No attorney can properly handle many cases at once. There is a limit to the time and effort that each attorney can give. We have always strongly urged parents to hire their own Family Court lawyers when possible. Make sure to hire someone who is familiar with NYC courts and has experience. Fighting ACS is not a part time job. They use all sorts of tactics in court to attack the parent. Try and hire your own attorney whenever pos...

ACS, like many agencies is responding to an ever changing city. New York City is now one of the wealthiest cities in the world and there has never been a city like this in the history in America. Because gentrification has taken hold, many wealthy families are now residing in NYC. Traditionally, the wealthier a city is, the less need for social services. This is a real problem for an agency like ACS who wants to keep its billions in funding. ACS has a simple solution. They simply bring more frivolous cases against parents and in some cases even share a case with several ACS workers to make it appear that they are working. The result is innocent parents being attacked by ACS.

Often ACS workers will run into parents that do not allow them to speak alone with the child. ACS workers have a very easy way of getting around this. They simply go to the child's school and pull them out of class and speak to them without the parent present. School officials are so terrified of ACS workers that they quickly hand the child over to them and the workers talk to the chile alone. This allows the worker to claim that the child made certain statements. If ACs workers meet resistance from school officials they simply threaten them with being arrested for interfering with an investigation. As soon as an ACS worker contacts you, you should contact at attorney as soon as possible. Stand up for your right, or go to BROOKLYNACSLAWYER.COM

The path to becoming a judge is often long and difficult. In New York, it is often a political process which requires the support of political parties in order to be elected. Family court judges are no exception. Once in the bench, most judges develop their own style and positions on issues. One fear that all judges have is the fear of bad publicity. One wrong decision can wreak havoc on a judges'S carreer and serially damage chances of being reelected. Thus, most judges will decide many cases based on political calculations. This is what occurs in the family courts of New York City. Once ACS files a petition, they are telling the judge that this kana bad parent and must be punished. The first time a parent appears in front of a judge, the judge will usually do exactly as ACS asks. Why should a judge take a risk on a parent they do not know. It's easier just to go along. Not until the parent proves to the court that they are no threat, will a judge ever consider changing her po...

ACS workers will use all sorts of tactics to obtain compliance from a parent. Here are some of the most common we encounter in our practice. THREATEN TO TAKE YOU TO COURT- This is the top ACS lie. ACS workers generally want to do as little work as possible. Filing a court petition takes effort and interaction with attorneys. This is a very effective threat against parents. The vast majority of parents will comply once threatened with this action. THE INVESTIGATION WILL LAST 60 DAYS- This is a simply lie to get the parent at ease. After the sixty days are up, the parent will assume that the investigation is over. This is simply not the case. ACs does not adhere to an schedule or regualtions. The investigation goes on as long as they need it to. MY SUPERVISOR SAYS SO- This is called the higher authority trick. The ACS worker will state that the supervisor is demanding more information from the parent. The fact is that ACS supervisors are there to help the worker attack the paren...

If you are reported for child abuse and the caller accuses you of drug use, ACS workers will come into your home and demand that you take the drug tests. Once a test is taken by the parent at an ACS FACILITY, the parent will not be given a copy of the results. The ACS worker will tell the parent that they have failed and demand that the parent enter a drug rehab program. We must also understand that many of these programs that ACS sends parents to are ineffective and are only used to increase the ACS budged by showing that ACS has " helped" families at risk. If and ACS worker asks you to take a drug test, consult an attorney immediately.

Under New York Law  parent can go to court and obtain a Persons In Need Of Supervision warrant from a judge. This is usually done by parents who have an out of control teenager and want help from the police in locating them. Once this is filed, this is fertile ground for ACS to attack parents. ACS worker will interview the child and most of the time the child will say horrible things about the parent. ACS will then take this information and accuse the parent of abuse. This is a way to build up the ACS case load and keep the ACS money train moving. So a parent who goes to the courts seeking help, will often find themselves the target of ACS attacks. This is a very dangerous situation for the parent because the child will quickly recognize that they have power over the parent, and will be emboldened to act out even more.

As every organization, ACS has its bureaucratic needs. The most important thing to ACS is to keep and expand its budget. They receive millions and millions of dollars from state and federal sources. In order to keep up the appearance that they are trying to "help" the children of NYC, they must show annual reports that show how many families they have " helped." Let us be clear, to actually help a struggling family requires expertise and a commitment that ACS workers do not posses. Thus, they are left with the way easier option of making pretend to help, already functioning families. This is the reason why parents are bullied into "programs. ACS knows that if they can throw a family into a year long program, they can then claim that they have "fixed" the parents and continue to receive their funding. It is the equivalent of washing a car that is already clean. This is the root of all of the ACS tactics and pressure to get parents into these programs....

Once a petition is filed ACS will attack the parents in two different ways. The ACS worker will visit the home and write reports for the court. These reports are given to the judge to advise the judge what the parents are doing in the case. This allows the ACS worker to manafacture allegations against the parents and present them to the judge as fact. Judges in family court rely on these reports when making decisions. Parents are often shocked at the content of these reports. In one case, we had an ACS worker claim that the parent pushed the worker out of the home. It was simply a lie. Ultimately ACS dismissed the case after a year of attacking the mother. Another tactic is to file motions on Friday at 4pm and email them to the attorney or file them the day before court so the opposing attorney has little time to react. These are some of the basic tricks used against parents in court. We should always be vigilant when ACS is attacking our clients in court. Too many judges simply take A...

ACS workers will file records with their supervisors as the case progresses. These records are notoriously immaculate and are only used to bolster the ACS worker's allegations against the parents. When we show the parents these records they are often shocked as to what the ACS worker wrote in the report. That is why it is so important to record the ACS worker when they visit your home.