Watching the Numbers.png

CNYCA's six-year statistical survey monitoring New York City's child welfare system

December 2019

After a two-year surge, the number of child welfare investigations and Family Court abuse and neglect cases filed against parents in New York City declined in City Fiscal Year (FY)2019, as did the number of children placed under court-ordered supervision by the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). These numbers, however, remained significantly higher than in previous, recent years. 

These are among the principal findings of “Watching the Numbers,” our annual statistical survey of key indicators concerning New York City’s child welfare system. After a dramatic increase in FY2017 and FY2018, average caseloads among child protective workers also declined, returning to FY2016 levels.

Continuing a trend of several decades, the total average foster care population reached a record low in FY2019, while the number of families receiving ACS-contracted preventive services rose. The data suggest that while fewer children in New York City are entering the foster care system, more families and children are receiving services under supervision and monitoring by ACS.

Some other key trends in the FY2019 data are:   

    • Average caseloads among child protective workers went down to 10.5 in FY2019, and the number of workers with caseloads above 15 families declined to its lowest point in several years. (Recommended caseloads for child protective workers range from 12-14 families at a time.)

    • The number of children admitted to foster care in calendar year 2018 dropped significantly below the previous year. 

    • The percentage of children who returned to foster care within two years of being discharged increased in FY2019.

    • The number of families taken to court by ACS declined in FY2019 from the previous two years. However, the FY2019 figure remains almost 25 percent higher than the average number from FY2014-FY2016.

    • The child foster care population continues to be disproportionately composed of Black and Latinx children, who made up 80 percent of kids in care.

    • The foster care population also skews very young: nearly 30 percent of children admitted to care in calendar year 2018 were under 2 years of age. 

    • Child welfare investigations and foster care placements remain highest in the lowest income, majority Black and Latinx community districts of the city.