Child Welfare

Keeping Families Together Can Reduce Child Welfare Tragedies

|

We read with interest your series on the De Blasio Administration’s efforts to end tragedies attributed to child maltreatment (“The Limits of Protection: Can Mayor’s Push Reduce Child Abuse Deaths,” authored by Rachel Blustain, December 16, 2014, and “The Limits of Protection: Fixing Child Abuse Investigations,” also by Rachel Blustain, December 17, 2014, and, lastly, “The Limits of Protection: Fighting the Fear of ACS,” same author, December 18, 2014). Child welfare systems alone are not sufficient to support the complex needs of vulnerable families. As the articles suggest, public service systems need to work together to provide holistic support to families. A great example of this is CSH’s Keeping Families Together supportive housing pilot. In your reports, Commissioner for New York City’s Children’s Services, Gladys Carríon, specifically champions the Administration’s focus on preventive measures, also a pillar of Keeping Families Together, and shares important facts with your readers.