Public Employee Press
Union defends child services caseworkers at City Hall rally
embattled ACS caseworkers during a press conference at City Hall on Dec. 21. From left, DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido, Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez and Local 372 President Shaun D. Francois I look on.
SSEU Local 371 members and leaders, including Administration for Children’s Services workers, rallied Dec. 21, at the steps of City Hall to demand support for ACS Child Protective Service workers and oppose the appointment of an independent monitor for the agency.
Joined by DC 37 leaders and activists, other union officials and elected city leaders, the crowd enveloped the entrance into City Hall, while dozens of other protesters lined the security perimeter demanding to join the rally.
Led by SSEU Local 371 President Anthony Wells, the rally and a follow-up press conference were a response to the reports issued by city and state agencies in the aftermath of the death of Zymere Perkins, a 6-year-old boy from Harlem. The reports held that ACS workers and managers monitoring the child’s case failed to protect the child, and cited a lack of through casework.
“We are here to send a message that New Yorkers do not understand,” SSEU Local 371 President Anthony Wells told the crowd. “Caseworkers — day in and day out — save children’s lives.”
The state ordered ACS to submit monthly reports to the city and state and to hire a monitor to evaluate the agency’s performance.
Holding up a 40-page document used for an ACS Child Protective Specialists’ initial visit, Wells said, “We don’t need a monitor, we need solutions. We don’t need another level of bureaucracy. We need solutions — real help. We are interested in doing our jobs with the best tools possible — the best support.”
He called on the city to implement real reforms in the child protection system by utilizing the resources of the workers themselves.
He also demanded that, instead of appointing a monitor over the agency, the city should hire more caseworkers to reduce caseloads and paperwork so that the front line staff would have more time to deal with meeting the needs of at-risk families.
Wells also demanded the city provide for support services, such as psychological and addiction counseling.
DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido also spoke at the rally.
“We end up politicalizing the response, rather than offering a solution,” he said. “The workers trying to prevent these tragedies get blamed for doing their job,” he said. “Instead we overregulate these workers, making it harder for them to do their work — which is to enforce the law.” — Mike Lee
