NEW YORK CITY ACS DEFENSE LAWYER

 According to the Office of Children and Family Services, black parents are almost 3 times more likely to be indicated than white parents. This will affect the parents job and ability to adopt. The sis a shameful policy and one ACS would work to end. Below is the contact information to make your voice heard. OCFSLAWYER.COM Do You Suspect Abuse or Maltreatment? Report it Now! Call our Statewide Toll Free Telephone Number: 1-800-342-3720 If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call TDD/TTY at 1-800-638-5163 OR  have your Video Relay System provider call 1-800-342-3720 If you believe that a child is in  immediate danger ,  call  911  or your local police department. Preventing Child Abuse Child abuse is an issue that exists in communities throughout New York State. Every citizen can play a role in helping to protect the safety and well-being of our children. The OCFS website provides valuable information about programs to help keep children safe from abuse and mal...

Officer Charged in Murder of Son, 8, Kept in Freezing Garage, Police Say “Get your hands off his mouth”: Audio was captured hours before the boy’s death at the hands of his N.Y.P.D. father, officials said. Officer Michael Valva was arrested and charged on Friday with killing his 8-year-old son. Credit... Johnny Milano for The New York Times By  Rebecca Liebson Jan. 24, 2020 The voices were captured by household surveillance equipment. “Get your hand off his mouth,” a woman says. “There’s people everywhere.” The woman, Angela Pollina, was talking to her fiancé, Michael Valva, a New York City police officer. The mouth she was urging him to remove his hand from belonged to his son, Thomas, an 8-year-old with autism, officials said. Not long after the recording was made, the authorities said, Thomas Valva was dead. He had been kept overnight in the couple’s unheated Long Island garage as the temperature outside plunged t...

This is a shocking story, even for ACS. ACS kept a child in a broken urine soaked wheelchair, despite court orders to obtain a new one. This is an agency that has a $3.1 billion budget. This case clearly shows the incompetence of ACS. While they attack parents for allegedly abusing their children, a judge has ruled after a hearing that they are the ones actually abusing and neglecting a child. Now if you are the parents of this child, how would you feel? The scathing ruling was issued in late January but was not known of publicly until the I-Team obtained a copy this week. Judge Emily Olshansky held nothing back, finding that ACS had demonstrated a “failure to comply with virtually every order of this Court.” She held the Commissioner of Social Services in civil contempt and ordered the commissioner to buy a $17,150 bond in the child’s name, maturing when he turns 21. Yo you can view the details and the video here.  It is shocking that a news station has to investigate and unc...

THIS IS A SIMPLE YET GREAT VIDEO ON HOW ACS PLACES CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE. CALL OUT HOTLINE AT 917-519-8417 FIGHTACS.COM BROOKLYNACSLAWYER.COM ACSATTORNEY.COM

The Staten Island ACS office is located at: STATEN ISLAND 350 Saint Marks Place, Ground floor Staten Island, NY 10301 Cross Streets:  Hyatt Street, Victory Boulevard Directions:    Trains to Bowling Green. Take Staten Island Ferry at Whitehall Terminal to St. George Terminal in Staten Island. Walk (5 minutes) South-West  Train to South Ferry Station.Take Staten Island Ferry at Whitehall Terminal to St. George Terminal in Staten Island (5 minutes). Walk (5 minutes) South-West Parents are often asked to go to this office for what are known as Child Safety Conferences. These meetings are designed to attack the parents and demand that they agree to "services" or risk going to Staten Island Family Court and having their children removed. IF  ACS HAS CONTACTED YOU CALL US AT 917-519-8417. nycacslawyer.com brooklynacslawyer.com

You may have noticed on the NYC subways, that, like many businesses, ACS has had to start advertising. This is because of the plummeting caseloads in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The campaign is targeting subway riders and bus riders, with friendly reminders that ACS  is here to help. This highly dysfunctional agency will only become more dangerous when, as reported by the NY Times, there are 400 new ACS workers being hired this month. The Mayor should be ashamed of this agency and immediately conduct a top down review of its leadership. The children of this city deserve better. BROOKLYNACSLAWYER.COM ACSATTORNEY.COM

ACS workers will often tell parents that the investigation will be open for 60 days. This gives the parents the false hope that of ACS does not find anything in 60 days that the case will be closed. The reality is that this is simply a lie to put the parents at ease. ACS does not follow any timeline or protocol for any of its investigations. For example, in one of our recent cases the parent was visited and threatened with court action by four separate ACS workers. By telling the parent that there is a 60 day window, ACS workers are attempting to induce the parent into "cooperating" in the investigation. As we have discussed, an ACS worker has two goals. The first and most coveted for an ACS worker is the removal of the children from the home into the foster care system. Once a child is placed in foster care, ACS is rewarded with more state and federal funds to care for that child. As well as getting credit for "saving" the child from an abusive parent. The seco...

One of the biggest complaints we hear from parents is that the ACS worker barged into their home and demanded to speak to they child outside the presence of the parent. This is a common ACS tactic that allows the ACS worker to claim that the child made statements in order to prosecute a case against the parent. ACS workers rely on the fear and unfamiliarity of parents with the legal system to force parents into useless services that are completely ineffective. In addition, these services are run by third party providers who's only interest is to obtaining new clients and increase their budgets. The ACS budget for this year is a little over 3 billion dollars. It is staggering how ineffective this agency is and how wasteful the senior leadership are with all of the money. Where does it go? Who decides? Why are caseloads still so high? Why is there such high turnover at acs? No one in the upper management has ever answered these questions. This is an agency where failure is the norm...

The latest ACS Commissioner to promise reforms. The truth is that the real power at ACS rests with the upper management team. These are career bureaucrats who show up, and cash their checks. They have no interest in any reform. Despite all of the child deaths, not one has been fired. The Commissioner is a figurehead that cannot effect reform. Thus, the children of our great city will keep dying. FIGHTACS.COM QUEENSACSLAWYER.COM QUEENSACSATTORNEY.COM

ACS workers have two options if they file a case against a parent. They can either file a petition in Family Court or an indicated case at the Offices of Children and Family Services. If there is little evidence against the parents they will only file at OCFS. This can be real trouble for parents that work with children or in the healthcare field. The first thing you must do is respond to the allegations right away. The law limits the amount of time that you have to appeal. Once an appeal is granted you may have to actually go to a hearing. The Law Offices of Michael S. Discioarro, LLC  will review all of the evidence in your case. We will contact OCFS and demand that the case be dismissed or in the alternative demand a hearing. We will discuss the case with you and appear with you at the hearing is necessary. At each step of the way the goal is to have the case dismissed and you removed from the registry. We will seek all legal avenues to make sure your rights are protected....

ACS workers will make home visits at any hour of the day.  They will knock on your door and demand to be let in. So what happens if you don't? Usually, the ACS workers will return with the police and try to intimidate the parents into letting them into the home. This is a common problem. We advise parents as soon as they hear about ACS seeking access, to contact an attorney as soon as possible. The police may not enter your home without a warrant. FIGHTACS.COM BROOKLYNACSLAWYER.COM NYCACSLAWYER.COM

We are asked every day how to sue ACS. The biggest challenge is that ACS holds certain state given immunities. Thus suing ACS and winning is very difficult. Many attorneys will not take an ACS lawsuit case in most instances. We only defend parents and do not bring suit in court. An effective way to hold ACS accountable is to file suit in federal court. The courts have offices that a assist pro-se litigants. ACS has much less power in federal court. They must adhere to the judges schedule or face punishment. If you believe you have a lawsuit against ACS, but no attorney will take your case, consider filing pro-se. You will have to pay all of the associated fees and costs of a lawsuit which can run into the thousands of dollars. Contact federal court today. Click on the links below. http://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/prose?contact https://www.nyed.uscourts.gov/pro-se-office

This is a common question from frustrated parents. The truth is that, in the hierarchy of courts, Family Court is seen as the lowest one nu prospective judges. Judges would much rather have the prestige of Supreme Court in Civil and Criminal cases. Another reason is that the legislature has ignored the needs of family court for a long time. There are simply not enough judges and the caseload is crushing. Just receiving a trial date can take months. Also, in every ACS case, every adjournment has to meet the schedules of three different attorneys, the can be very difficult. It is in this environment that ACS dysfunction thrives. ACS workers do not want an open and fair trial They prefer to accuse parents of abuse and then drag it out through the court system. In the interim, they demand that parents do useless "services" in order to help them become better parents. It is a completely corrupt system that needs to be addressed. As we have said many times. We need juries in Fami...

As we have seen too many times in our city, ACS fails to protect kids. Dozens of children have died under ACS supervision. Why does this happen? Why is no one held accountable? These are all political questions. The first answer is that ACS is controlled by the Mayor. Every NYC mayor has ignored the agency expect when they throw money at it when a child dies. The ACS budget is now $2.9 billion and growing. Second, ACS has not had effective leadership in many decades. Turnover at ACS is alarming. In many cases, the ACS attorney quits right in the middle of the case. Third, ACS workers are not given the proper training and guidance. ACS workers are taught to find something on the parents. So it becomes a situation where ACS workers are trying to force parents into services so the ACS workers can claim that they have helped a family. The fact is that ACS workers do not want o help troubled children who are in real need. Why should they? They are paid the same no matter what children the...

The answer yo this question is a resounding NO. Even experienced attorneys do not represent themselves in legal matters. The reason is that your emotional attachment to case will cloud your judgement. Also, and most importantly, ACS lawyers and workers often lie in court about everry facet of the case. You must have an experienced attorney next to you who knows how to attack these lies. The tactic of the ACS lawyer and worker is to always blame the parent and hide as many negative facts as possible. ACSATTORNEYS.COM

    It is important to hear from real parents. Please play this clip and always FIGHTACS.COM.

Many parents frustrated with ACS, try to file complaints against the ACS worker. They usually fail because the parent will try to file the complaint against the worker with the supervisor. The ACS supervisors are simply not interested in hearing the parent's complaint. They are complicit in attacking the parents. They will also lie to the parents at every turn. There is no place in ACS for parents to file a complaint. Any complaints against ACS has to go to an outside agency. BROOKLYNACSATTORNEY.COM

This is a common question we receive from parents. The answer is simple, NO. You as the parent must advise the ACS worker that you will not allow them to speak with your child alone. You must also contact the child's school and advise them that they are not to allow the ACS worker to speak to your child. ACS workers will manipulate a child's statement or simply lie about them. If ACS workers want to speak to your child, they can go get a court order and then the matter can be dealt with in court. As soon as an ACS worker wants to speak to your child, contact an ACS lawyer to protect your rights. BROOKLYNACSATTORNEY.COM FIGHTACS.COM

This is a heart-wrenching question that we hear from parents on a daily basis. The dysfunction at ACS is so vast and deep it is difficult to answer this question because ACS workers are so unpredictable. There are some types of cases where ACS workers remove children almost immediately. 1. MENTAL HEALTH- If a parent admits to an ACS worker that they have had any type of mental health issues, the ACS worker will look for any reason to remove the child. They will use anything in the parents history to justify this removal. So if a parent seeks mental health help. they place their child in jeopardy. This is one of the ways ACS tears families apart. 2. DOMESTIC ABUSE- If ACS believes that a mother is "allowing" herself to be abused by a husband or boyfriend, ACS will remove the child. ACS will claim that the child is in danger and demand removal. 3. DIRTY HOME- If an ACS worker believes you have a dirty home, they will remove the child on the spot. This often happens when ...

ACS has different schemes in order to entrap parents. One of their favorite tactics is to allege that the parent has mental health issues and demand that they do a mental health evaluation. They demand that the parents go to the ACS office and do a CSAC assessment. "There are many diagnoses that get used liberally to describe stress and poverty," says Jessica Marcus, a supervising attorney with the Brooklyn Family Defense Project of Legal Services NYC. "Somebody is angry and they are classified as hostile. Well, who wouldn't be angry or hostile if somebody had removed their child from them or threatened to remove their child? It's a way of basically taking someone's poverty and powerlessness and treating it like it's a diagnosis and a disease, when it's really a natural response to a difficult situation."  This is the problem. If a parent is upset at ACS, they will claim the parent has anger management problems. You you need a mental ...