Reposted by Robert Bork-gnatyeva
The mother subjected to ACS supervision in this case, who was accused only of *being a victim of domestic violence* at the hands of her partner who was ordered to stay away from her home, gave this harrowing explanation of how the city agency interfered with her life.
![In June 2024, after the mother was assigned counsel, she moved to vacate the January 3, 2024 order’s provision for ACS supervision. In her affidavit, she stated that she and the child had been subjected to over 15 announced and unannounced home visits by an ACS caseworker in a six-month period. During those visits, the caseworker
searched every room in the mother’s home, inspected the contents of her refrigerator, and closely inspected the child’s body.2 The mother described the searches as “traumatizing,” “intrusive and humiliating,” said they reminded her “of the fear and anxiety of being abused” by the father, and “brought [her] back to a dark place where [she] was forced to think about the abuse” by the father. She further stated that ACS supervision had a substantial negative impact on her ability to have friends and family visit her and her child, to control her schedule, and “to live freely.” In addition, she missed overtime opportunities at work in order for ACS to conduct home visits. The mother’s description in her affidavit of multiple announced and unannounced caseworker visits and surveillance of the intimate aspects of the family’s daily life3 is consistent with statements in the amicus brief of Sanctuary for Families that actions taken by ACS during ACS supervision sometimes mimic the coercive control exercised
2 This is consistent with Sanctuary for Families’ observation that home inspections can be deeply upsetting for children, as children can be expected to remove as much clothing, including underwear, as the worker deems necessary, and to allow total strangers to examine their bodies (Amicus Br. of Sanctuary for Families at 21 [citing Hum. Rts. Watch, “If I Wasn’t Poor, I Wouldn’t Be Unfit”: The Family Separation Crisis in the US Child Welfare System [Nov. 2022], available at:
https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/11/17/if-i-wasnt-poor-i-wouldnt-be-unfit/familyseparation-crisis-us-child-welfare [last accessed Apr. 15, 2025]).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7yb5sbwnqqimcmex5ay3xgjb/bafkreibqtph2em4wq7z3pzfjcxnlofsas5lmokczjpvc5zsv3vkhlfhs3a@jpeg)
![by an abusive partner, including by regulating the nonrespondent’s daily activities or intruding on the nonrespondent parent’s autonomy in other ways. For example, ACS may require the nonrespondent parent to seek shelter or an order of protection when these are not safe options under the circumstances (Amicus Br. of Sanctuary for Families at 10-11 [citing The “Failure to Protect” Working Group, Charging Battered Mothers With “Failure to Protect”: Still Blaming the Victim, 27 Fordham Urb. L.J. 849, 855 (2000)]). In addition, as the mother in this case experienced and as Sanctuary for Families point out, compliance with ACS supervision can become “a full-time job,” and worsen economic harms typically caused by abuse (Amicus Br. of Sanctuary for Families at 12-13, citing Patricia Fersch, Why Doesn’t the Severe Harm and Costs of Domestic Violence Result in More Women Going to Court?, Forbes [Dec. 13, 2023] [citing research finding that domestic violence causes survivors to lose 8 million days of work each year and results in loss of jobs for 21%-60% of survivors], available at:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/patriciafersch/2023/12/13/why-doesnt-the-severeharm-and-costs-of-domestic-violence-result-in-more-women-going-to-court/ [last accessed Apr. 15, 2025]). The resulting economic hardship disproportionately affects people of color, members of other historically marginalized communities and those of low-income. As addressed by Sanctuary for Families, they are “more likely to already be living in difficult economic situations, and more likely to face additional economic hardship as a result of their being abused” (Amicus Br. of Sanctuary for Families at 16, citing New York City Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, Report on the Intersection of Domestic Violence, Race/Ethnicity and Sex [2020]).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7yb5sbwnqqimcmex5ay3xgjb/bafkreifrffd6ay6br2fqg4o6lz5plkvf6bq4soqgsrgl743rc7j5ehdfny@jpeg)
July 25, 2025 at 2:38 PM
The mother subjected to ACS supervision in this case, who was accused only of *being a victim of domestic violence* at the hands of her partner who was ordered to stay away from her home, gave this harrowing explanation of how the city agency interfered with her life.
Reposted by Robert Bork-gnatyeva
Yesterday another NY appeals court held that the longstanding practice of ACS getting supervision orders over parents accused of no wrongdoing, which allow for unannounced visits & intrusive searches, is illegal. This is now clearly established law in all NYC. I wonder if the practice has stopped.
July 25, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Yesterday another NY appeals court held that the longstanding practice of ACS getting supervision orders over parents accused of no wrongdoing, which allow for unannounced visits & intrusive searches, is illegal. This is now clearly established law in all NYC. I wonder if the practice has stopped.
Reposted by Robert Bork-gnatyeva
I enjoy Lynch obviously but his vision of the dark side of small town life has been rendered quaint by NextDoor
October 15, 2023 at 6:59 PM
I enjoy Lynch obviously but his vision of the dark side of small town life has been rendered quaint by NextDoor
Reposted by Robert Bork-gnatyeva
me: what’s crazy is that rudy giuliani first rose to fame because of 9/11
teen born in 2006: ohh. like he helped do it
me: ok no, but i see how you got there
teen born in 2006: ohh. like he helped do it
me: ok no, but i see how you got there
August 30, 2023 at 1:57 PM
me: what’s crazy is that rudy giuliani first rose to fame because of 9/11
teen born in 2006: ohh. like he helped do it
me: ok no, but i see how you got there
teen born in 2006: ohh. like he helped do it
me: ok no, but i see how you got there
Reposted by Robert Bork-gnatyeva
