The Administration for Children's Services protects and promotes the safety and well-being of New York City's children, young people, families, and communities by providing high quality child welfare, juvenile justice, and childcare assistance. ACS is committed to reducing and eliminating disparities in the child welfare, juvenile justice, and childcare assistance systems through partnering with other system stakeholders. ACS sees it as our responsibility and our role because it is our mission to protect children and promote the success of children, families, and communities. To fulfill that mission, we need to ensure that our system is equitable and that an individual's or family's race or ethnicity does not impact their experience in ACS systems. ACS extends our deepest gratitude to the late Tyler James, Director of Race Equity Strategies. Tyler's leadership and vital contributions during the development of this report were instrumental to its completion.
Spotlight wins
School Based Early Support RFP resulted in 16 awards for programs that began at the start of FY25. ACS has re-envisioned the model for programs formerly known as ACS Beacon Prevention to partner closely with schools to connect families to supports and services well before concerns warrant a call to the SCR. Providers connect families to community resources, assist with case management, support caregivers, and avoid unnecessary child welfare investigations. Partnering schools are concentrated in TRIE neighborhoods.Successful RFP resulting in 27 new contracts for Family Enrichment Centers (FECs). FECs are walk-in centers co-designed with and for local families and community members with the goal of strengthening family protective factors, including social connectivity, access to concrete resources, and economic mobility. Family Enrichment Centers are in TRIE neighborhoods.Expanded Parents Empowering Parents (PEP) citywide. As of November 30, 2025, over 90 parent advocates have been hired across 20 foster care agencies. The Parents Empowering Parents strategy embeds parent advocates in all Enhanced Family Foster Care (EFFC) case planning units.Since January 2023, ACS has conducted or co-led 435 presentations reaching 27,000+ mandated reporters in New York City. Sessions provide information about new training requirements and guidance on when a report to the SCR is and is not necessary, shifting messaging from 'when in doubt, call the SCR' to 'you can support a family without having to report a family'. Over 230 sessions reaching 16,000+ school and childcare staff; over 110 sessions reaching 6,000+ social services staff; over 70 sessions reaching 3,000+ health and mental health staff.
