New York Child Welfare System Overwhelmed, New Report Finds

A recent report by two research institutions, the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School and the Center for an Urban Future reports that the New York Family Court system has been “overwhelmed” by a flood of abuse and neglect cases in the last two years.   The report “Against the Clock: The Struggle to Move Kids Into Permanent Homes,” notes that abuse and neglect allegation have increased by 150% in the past two years and that more children are spending longer periods in foster care. "Despite the Permanency Law of 2005 — which aimed to get children out of foster care faster — kids in New York City are staying in foster care longer. For children in foster care for the first time, the median length of stay before returning home rose from 8.2 months in fiscal year 2005 to 11.5 months in fiscal year 2007."

Read the New York Times article on the report
The summary of the report  is available online (last visited January 10, 2008 bgf)