NEW YORK CITY ACS DEFENSE LAWYER

When a child is removed by A CS , a family is often in shock and is given conflicting advice on how to proceed. New York Family Law allows for a 1028 heating that forces ACS to prove its case before a judge or return the child. The one BIG advantage in demanding a 1028 hearing is that ACS is put under pressure to actually prove their case. During this process they often fail. As we have discusses, ACS is a highly dysfunctional agency. Therefore, in certain cases, it may be very advantageous to the parent to demand a 1028 hearing. This is not the case in each child removal. You must discuss this option with your attorney and decide if it is the best way to go in your case.

At a certain point during the ACS investigation of your family, the ACS worker will order you to attend a Family Safety Conference. The goal of this meeting is to isolate the parents in a room and attack them with allegations. The ACS worker and her supervisor will then offer "services" to the family. The worker and her bosses will stress how badly the family needs this and how the parents will benefit from these wonderful programs. This is simply an ambush. In reality, these services are run by third parties that are not controlled by ACS and are only interested in more funding and keeping their positions. Should the parents resist in any way, the ACS workers will threaten court action and the removal of the children. This is a very stressful experience form most parents.This stress is what the ACS workers and their bosses count on. They want the parents to give up, follow the ACS orders and admit that they are bad parents and enter services for help. It is at this momen...

In this post we will explore what concrete rights parents have when dealing with ACS. These are legal rights and cannot be taken away by an ACS worker: - A PARENT HAS THE RIGHT NOT TO SPEAK TO AN ACS WORKER- There is simply no law, rule, or regulation that requires that parents speak to an ACS worker. The ACS worker will accuse you of being "uncooperative". This is a threat. Do not allow this. Stand your ground. -YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO AN ATTORNEY OF YOUR CHOICE- From the initial ACS visit you can have an attorney by your side every step of the way. The ACS worker will question why you hired an attorney. Do not answer. This is a constitutional right that many people have fought for. -YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ACS REQUESTS- In our society, the only people that can force a private citizen to do things are the police and a judge's order. ACS cannot force you to do anything. All they can do is ask. If they so desire, they can go obtain a court order. -YOU HAVE THE...

Once a case has been filed against a parent in Family Court, ACS follows a usual script to get the parents to admit to some wrong-doing. First, they will charge the parents with any "fact" they can get any one to accuse the parents of. To ACS, the accusation is the evidence. Then, ACS will demand that parents complete "services" while the case is pending. In the vast majority of cases, the parents are not advised that these "services" are voluntary and need not be done in order for the case to go forward. However, due to the shock of being dragged before a judge and accused of child abuse, parents will usually do ANYTHING in order to prove to everyone that they are good parents. At no point is ACS ever challenged to prove their case in point. In one recent victory, the ACS worker admitted under oath that she "never" reviewed the parents medical records in a case where they would be very important. After about a year of court proceedings, ACS c...