Starvation, Neglect, and Worse: NYC Child Welfare Report Is Devastating
New York City’s child welfare agency is facing renewed scrutiny after a bombshell report exposed officials for blocking oversight into several child abuse investigations. And while the report sheds a new light on children in the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) system, outraged families are calling for the agency to take full accountability.
The report, released last week by the city’s Department of Investigation (DOI), found investigators were routinely denied access to critical ACS records, which might’ve proved vital for the safety of children in the system. Abuse claims, alleged misconduct by agency employees and files tied to child fatalities were all reportedly covered. And for Black and brown children in NYC, the report hits even harder.
Black and brown children are disproportionately represented in ACS cases. According to the NYC Family Policy Project, almost 45 percent of Black and Latino children undergo a family investigation by age 18. That’s compared to the only 19 percent of white families that are investigated.
The report underscores an overall lack of focus on Black and brown communities. Now, families of children who died despite prior ACS involvement want answers as to why little has changed.
“When a kid dies, someone has to pay for that,” Nyisha Ragsdale, the aunt of 4-year-old Jahmeik Moldin, told the New York Post. Her nephew starved to death in October 2024 while in his parents’ custody. According to the Post, the boy’s mother and father had been the subject of at least four ACS neglect reports since 2019.
Authorities said the 4-year-old endured horrific neglect inside a Harlem apartment where food was locked away and feces covered parts of the home. Prosecutors alleged the boy was emaciated and suffered prolonged abuse before his death.
The DOI findings portray a child welfare system shielded from meaningful public accountability by layers of state confidentiality laws and overall resistance. Investigators said ACS and the state Office of Children and Family Services prevented DOI from reviewing several cases, including complaints labeled “unfounded” and those diverted into ACS’s CARES program.
“Without full access to records, DOI cannot determine whether ACS workers followed policy, overlooked warning signs or failed to protect children,” the report stated.
In a city where 60 percent of children are Black and Latino– but they account for 90 percent of children in the foster system— the report offered little comfort for grieving families. Instead, families are focusing on systemic failures that they say continue to fail the children in the city.
“This proves nothing has changed,” another relative told the Post. In addition to 4-year-old Moldin’s case, the report comes following several high-profile child deaths in New York City.
“There should be transparency across the board,” said the grandfather of 5-year-old De’Neil Timberlake, who overdosed on methadone while his father was under ACS investigation. “That should be the law. As it stands right now, it makes no sense. It’s wrong,” he continued to the Post.
ACS defended its handling of confidential records, saying state laws governing child welfare cases are intended to protect children and families. The agency said it supports oversight efforts while balancing privacy obligations. DOI officials urged state lawmakers to overhaul New York law in order to grant investigators the broader authority to access records without requiring state approval.
