NEW YORK CITY ACS DEFENSE LAWYER

 ACS workers are trained to obtain cooperation from parents. In this endeavor, they have what are called hard and soft tactics. One of the most effective soft tactics that they have is to tell the parent in the beginning of the investigation that they (the acs workers) doesn't even know why they are there and the investigation " should be closed soon."  This has the affect of putting the parent at ease. Then, the ACS worker will return to the home and state that their " supervisor" has told them they must take services from ACS or face a case being filed against them in family court. This scenario can vary a little but the outcome is always the same. The parent cannot understand how the case went from being closed to the parents having to do services. These tricks used by ACS workers are akin to the used car salesman using his "manager" as a higher authority. Unfortunatey, we are dealing with the safety of children and the rights of parents. The goal o...

 ACS workers have a very powerful tool against parents in child abuse investigations. When an ACS workers interviews a child and is not given the answers that will allow him to charge the parents with child abuse, they will conduct a Child Advocacy Center interview. The process is as follows. The child is taken to a CAC center, where an "expert" interviewer will browbeat the child into admitting that the parents did something. As soon as a child says anything negative about the parent, the interview stops and the parent will be charged with child abuse. This is done to children as young as four. The interviews are recorded and presented in court. The interviewer is usually a recent college grad who has been given clear instructions to try and get "something" on the parents. To view some of these interviews is truly shocking. If a child says nothing happened he is not believed. If a child lies about various issues its put down as kid talk. The only thing that matters...

During child safety conferences, ACS workers will assign a parent an "advocate". This is a person who works for ACS who's job it is to advocate for the parent. In reality, this person will advise the parent to simply cooperate with ACS and the case will beaver soon. They are there to "soften up" the parent so ACS workers can extract more information from the parent and attack them as much as they can. If you are being taken to a child safety conference by ACS, contact an attorney as soon as possible. our hotline is 917-519-8417. FIGHTACS.COM STATENISLANDACSLAWYER.COM

PROTRACTED 1028 HEARINGS FIVE CASE STUDIES RAISING STATUTORY AND CONSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS ABOUT NON- EXPEDITED HEARINGS UNDER SECTION 1028 OF THE FAMILY COURT ACT IMPACT LITIGATION PRACTICE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The New York Family Court Act enumerates procedures in abuse and neglect cases that are intended to safeguard fundamental familial rights. These procedures balance the state’s interest in protecting children from harm with the family’s interest in unity free from government interference. The Bronx Defenders represents thousands of parents facing abuse and neglect allegations each year. In this report, we shine a light on operational and structural problems within the Bronx Family Court that routinely result in the prolonged and unwarranted separation of families and which cause the kinds of harm that the Family Court Act was designed to prevent. When the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) temporarily removes children from their parents pending trial in abus...

Many parents h=come to us with the same question. Given how important it is to protect children, why is ACS so inept and incapable of protecting children and at the same time harassing good parents? There are many reasons for this. First, ACS has no effective leadership. The commissioners come and go but ACS brass stays in place year after year. The top managers keep out of the public eye as children die and parents lives are turned upside down by incompetent and ruthless ACS workers. Second, ACS workers receive very little training and are thrown into the street without an understanding of what their proper role is. They learn from the older ACS workers. They are taught that they must blame a parent for something. And if a case is difficult, and a child is in real need, they are trained to close the case because they are paid the same either way. This was in fact what occurred in the Zymere Perkins case and many other cases. Third, ACS workers know that many parents will willin...

ACS workers have the power to remove children from their parents home without a court order. This is the power they threaten every parent in NYC with and force them to comply. The vast majority of parents will be so frightened that they will do whatever the ACS worker demands. Here are some of the most common ACS worker lies that parents are told: 1. YOU MUST SPEAK TO US 2. YOU MUST LET US INTO YOUR HOME 3. YOU MUST TAKE A DRUG TEST. 4. THE INVESTIGATION WILL ONLY LAST 60 DAYS 5. IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY WE WILL GOT TO COURT Do not fall for these lies. Fight back. Call a lawyer as soon as an ACS worker contacts you. The Law Offices of Michael S. Discioarro, Esq. is here to help. Call 917-519-8417.

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.