NEW YORK CITY ACS DEFENSE LAWYER

 One of the favorite tactics of ACS workers is to demand that parents take a drug test. This is done without a court order or any facts that support that the parent uses illegal drugs. All ACS workers require to demand a drug test is an anonymous accusation by anyone against the parent. If a parent passes the test the ACS worker will hide it and still demand that the parent enter into parenting classes. If the parent fails the test the ACS worker will threaten the parents with "court action" and demand to have a meeting to address all of the parents "needs". ACS workers are not here to protect the children. The cases of Nixmary Brown and Zyemere Perkins make that clear. They are simply here to attack parents and justify the $2.9 billion dollar budget the city gives them. If ACS does not have "customers" they lose funding. If you have been contacted by an ACS worker call our hotline at 917-519-8417 MANHATTANACSATTORNEY.COM BROOKLYNACSATTORNEY.COM STATENISLA...

  The Administration for Children’s Services has objected to the legislation requiring child protection investigators to read parents their rights during an initial home visit, similar to the Miranda rights police must inform people of when they’re arrested. City leaders have also objected to telling parents they have the right to refuse investigators entry into their homes without a court order, arguing that state social service law requires agencies to first confirm a child’s safety, before providing parents information about their rights. The full article is here. NYCACSLAWYER.COM BROOKLYNACSLAWYER.COM QUEENSACSLAWYER.COM BRONXACSLAWYER.COM STATENISLANDACSLAWYER.COM MANHATTANACSLAWYER.COM

 We are often asked by our clients, why is ACS attacking me in this way? The answer is very simple. Because New York City has become a wealthier place in the last 20 years, many social services are simply not needed. Parents with resources are able to obtain help privately without the interference and the treat of court action. This leaves ACS is a difficult position. Like every business, they need customers to survive. The best way to do that is to attack and force services on good parents. For one simple reason. ACS knows that these parents love their children and would never harm them. Its the equivalent of the mechanic facing a car that is not broken. He can claim after the fact that he's a great mechanic. ACS forces parents into useless ACS programs and at the end of the year they write a report to the city Council outlining how many families they have "helped" and ask fro more funding. This is the political money game that ACS workers play. They are advised by their...

  "It was rational for [the New York City's Administration for Children's Services] to be concerned about the potential disruptiveness of the petitioner's speech" put forward in his essay, wrote the Appellate Division, First Department. By Jason Grant | November 24, 2021     Appellate Division, First Department at 27 Madison Ave. (Photo by David Handschuh/NYLJ) A state appeals court has ruled it was not a First Amendment violation, or arbitrary and capricious, for New York City’s child welfare agency to avoid hiring a man in part because he’d published an essay that laid out his views on the fundamental unfairness of the criminal justice system. “The record supports [the Administration for Children's Services] assertion that it declined to hire petitioner because of its concern for the potential impact of his speech on his work, and not in retaliation for the content of that speech,” wrote a panel of Appellate Division, First Department justices, in part, as t...

 ACS has hundreds of child protective specialists that receive cases through anonymous phone reporting. They then go to the home of the accused and interrogate the parents and the children. This is done in every single case. Anyone can accused anyone else of child abuse by simply calling the state hotline. This includes former romantic partners, teachers, employers and landlords. The ACS worker will arrive at any time and demand that the parents speak to them and provide access to their children. There are some very important reasons why you should not speak to an ACS worker without an attorney. 1. In New York state we have a right to counsel. 2. ACS workers do not record the conversation in any way, other then taking their own notes. 3. ACS workers can lie to you. 4. ACS workers will not tell you what exactly you will be accused of. 5. ACS workers have two goals, one is to remove the children and if there is no evidence, they will demand that parents enroll in useless ACS services...

 One of the ways that ACS attacks parents is to make home visits late at night. At the time the children will be sleeping and the ACS worker will demand that the parent wake the children up so they can be checked for bruises. As you can imagine, this is very stressful to parents. This is what ACS counts on. ACS routinely knocks on parents doors after midnight.  This is usually a done without a court order and without any Court approval. If ACS knocks on your door, contact an attorney as soon as possible. The Law Offices of Michael S. Discioarro, LLC at 917-519-8417. FIGHTACS.COM ACSATTORNEY.COM BROOKLYNACSATTORNEY.COM QUEENSACSLAWYER.COM BRONXACSLAWYER.COM STATENISLANDACSLAWYER.COM

 ACS workers who demand entry to parent's homes are often ask the worker wether they should have an attorney. ACS workers are trained to advise parents not to seek an attorney because the case "is not in court". What the ACS worker does not tell the parents is that anything the parents say or are alleged to have said can be used in court against them and justify removing their children.  Even when parents hire an attorney, it is ACS policy for workers not to speak to the parent's attorney. The right to counsel in New York is a fundamental right that is jealously guarded by the courts. Parents has a right to a lawyer as soon as an ACS investigation begins.  FIGHTACS.COM QUEENSACSLAWYER.COM BROOKLYNACSLAWYER.COM STATENISLANDACSLAWYER.COM BRONXACSLAWYER.COM MANHATTANACSLAWYER.COM

 A CS in Brooklyn filed a petition against the father in acs of Matter of K.N in file number 02044-21. ACS demanded that the father be excluded from the home and not be allowed to live with his family. After a 1028 hearing, the Hon. J. Ben Darvil, of Brooklyn Family Court decided otherwise. The Court found that the ACS worker, Crystal Martinez's testimony was "remarkable in that she chose to answer her questions and not the ones posed by counsel." The Court found no imminent risk and ordered the father be allowed back into the family home. "We are pleased that the Court saw through the testimony of the ACS worker and allowed our client back home to his family where he belongs," Mr. Discioarro said. ACS routinely excludes parents from the home in an effort to force parents into services and make them comply with ACS demands. The family in this case was grateful that the Court allowed the father back home and was not swayed by fraudulent ACS testimony. ACS attorne...

 Each day, thousands of parents are targeted by ACS workers. DO NOT speak to ACS workers without an attorney. Let's discuss why: 1. ACS workers only take the notes they want to take, They do not record the interview in any way. This allows them to manufacture statements that parents did not. in fact make. 2. Everything you say can be used to remove your child. Nothing is off limits once you start speaking. 3. ACS workers do not provide the reason for their visit. They will ask about every member of your family and go into deep detail looking to build a case. 4. ACS workers prefer to target innocent parents who are no danger to the kids. This is very simple actually. ACS workers profit when they can put a family into "services'. Then a report is issued by ACS claiming how much they have helped the family. The family was never broken and ACS did very little work. 5. ACS workers will become very upset when you try and record them. They do not believe in transparency. 6. ACS w...

  On Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 5.59 a.m., an off-duty, New York City employee was arrested and charged in the 45th precinct, which covers Co-op City and City Island in The Bronx. Crystal Soto, 31, a New York City social worker in the Administration for Children’s Services was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of stolen property and criminal possession of a firearm.   Her name does not appear on the ACS website.  Norwood News  has reached out to the Bronx District Attorney’s office, the NYPD and to the City administration for further information as to where Soto was based, whether in a school or elsewhere, and if she underwent psychological evaluation at the time of her arrest. We will update this story upon receipt of any further information.   An ACS spokesperson provided  Norwood News  with the following statement regarding its screening process for employees: “ACS holds o...

 The goal of ACS workers is to remove as many children as possible from their parents. If this is not achievable, the next alternative is to place as many families in ACS "programs" which are useless cases run by third parties that contract with ACS. The more families that can be placed in these programs, the more funding ACS receives. At ACS, the goal is to keep the state and federal funds rolling in. In order to achieve this ACS workers have developed a set of lies and tactics they execute on parents. We will review the top one. 1. YOU ARE NOT IN COURT SO YOU CANNOT HAVE A LAWYER 2. YOU CANNOT RECORD ME 3. THE INVESTIGATION WILL LAST 60 DAYS 4. MY SUPERVISOR WANTS YOU TO DO THIS 5. I AM HERE TO HELP YOUR FAMILY 6. YOU MUST SPEAK TO ME All of these statements are absolute lies, but when taken together they can make a parent feel helpless. They are all designed to have the parent comply and follow the ACS worker's orders. If your family has been targeted by ACS, contact t...

 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...

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...

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...

We get this question from many clients and parents who are desperate to hold ACS accountable. The answer is YES, but there are many obstacles. First, since ACS is a city agency, notice must be served withing 90 days. Hoever, if you are suing in federal court some of these time limitations do not apply. We are often asked what type of lawyer would file this lawsuit. These types of cases are considered civil actions and are mainly brought by personal injury lawyers and lawyers that have experience in suing New York City and its agencies. Usually, these cases are done on contingency fees. That means the client does not pay the attorney, but will share in the winnings if any. So, your case must be one that a civil attorney sees has a good chance of winning. If you decide to contact one, before you meet them, try and prepare a detailed package about your case for him to review. This will make things easier for the attorney and you will receive a faster answer on how successful he thinks yo...

OCFS is the state office that handles complaints against parents suspected of child abuse. When ACS does not have enough evidence of child abuse against a parent, they will file a case at OCFS. A hearing will then be conducted. Most at risk are parents who are in the child care or medical profession, as well as law enforcement. Thus, ACS will put the economic lives of parents at stake in order to fulfill their bureaucratic needs. This is one of the main reasons why ACS is a highly dangerous and dysfunctional agency. The well -being of the family is of no concern to ACS workers and their supervisors who are trying to justify their salaries and budgets by attacking NYC parents at an alarming rate. If you receive a letter from OCFS, do not ignore it. There may be serious implications for your employment if you are found guilty of child abuse at this agency hearing. Contact us at 917-519-8417 or go to BROOKLYNACSLAWYER.COM

It has been reported that ACS investigated, Cesar Gonzales Mugaburu , nine times and did nothing to stop him. There have been countless families injured by the failed agency. If they cannot be trusted to find a child molester right under their noses, how van they be trusted to investigate parents in cases of neglect. Each child was in the custody of this monster because ACS believed the parents were abusing the children. Our Law Office has seen so many cases of this it truly saddens us.

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.

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...