In re: An ACS investigationFamily Court · Article 10Manhattan · Queens · All five boroughs
ACS investigation lawyer in Queens & NYC
Reviewed by David Schnall, Esq.Last reviewed
ACS investigations, neglect and abuse cases in Family Court, and getting children home. David Schnall is a former attorney for the City of New York in child-welfare litigation: he knows how these cases are built.
Free virtual consultation · By video or phone · Confidential
33
Years of family law
N.Y. Bar 1993 · S.D.N.Y. 1994
1,000+
Clients represented
Family law only
4.9
Rating on Avvo
58 client reviews
4×
Avvo Clients’ Choice
2018 · 2019 · 2021 · 2023
NYU
School of Law
J.D. 1991 · B.A. in Finance and Accounting
Every
NYC Family Court
Plus NYS Supreme & S.D.N.Y.
In brief
ACS & Child Welfare in New York: key facts.
General information about New York law, not advice about your case. Each point is explained below.
- Which court
- Family Court, under Article 10 of the Family Court Act.
- The investigation
- ACS must begin within 24 hours of a report.
- The decision
- Within 60 days: “indicated” or “unfounded”. Indicated requires a fair preponderance of the evidence.
- An indicated report
- You can ask for it to be amended within 90 days of being told.
- A removed child
- When a parent asks for the child’s return, the hearing is held within three court days, except for good cause.
An investigation is already a case.
A knock on the door or a call from ACS can turn a family upside down in an afternoon. Caseworkers are required to move quickly, and what they see and hear in the first days, in your home, from your children and from you, becomes the record.
Many investigations end without a court case. Some end with a report marked “indicated” that can surface years later, when you apply for a job working with children. Some become a neglect or abuse petition in Family Court, and in the most serious cases, children are removed from the home.
You may call a lawyer at any point during an investigation. The time to do it is before the investigation hardens into a petition, while there is still a record to shape.
Every stage, from the first knock.
For parents and caregivers facing ACS, in every New York City Family Court.
ACS investigations
Advice from the first contact: what the investigation involves, what your options are, and how to respond to the caseworker.
Neglect and abuse cases
Defending a parent in Family Court under Article 10, from the first appearance through the fact-finding and dispositional hearings.
Removal and return
When children have been removed: asking the court for their return, and fighting for visits and a plan to bring them home.
Indicated reports
Challenging an indicated report: requesting that it be amended and sealed, and an administrative fair hearing if it isn’t.
Termination of parental rights
Defending a parent when an agency asks the court to end parental rights permanently.
Reunification
Services, visits and permanency hearings: the steps that bring a family back together, and the record that shows the court you have taken them.
Not sure your situation fits a box? Most family cases touch more than one. The consultation sorts that out.
Discuss your caseHe has argued the City’s side.
- i.
Former attorney for the City of New York
Child-welfare litigation
David Schnall handled child-welfare litigation for the City. He is fully versed in ACS proceedings and child protection investigations: he knows how the agency builds a case, and where it can be answered.
- ii.
Ten years as a public defender
NYC Family Court, 2002–2012
A decade representing parents in New York City Family Court, where Article 10 cases are heard. He has seen these cases from the parent’s side of the courtroom too.
- iii.
Court-appointed counsel for children
10+ years
For more than ten years the court appointed him to represent children. He knows what the child’s lawyer and the judge need to see before children go home.
How an ACS case moves.
Not every investigation becomes a court case. When one does, this is the usual path in New York City Family Court.
Which court
Family Court. Neglect and abuse cases under Article 10 of the Family Court Act are heard there, in every borough.
- 01
The report and the investigation
A report to the Statewide Central Register goes to ACS, which must begin investigating within 24 hours: home visits, interviews, and calls to schools and doctors.
- 02
The determination
Within 60 days, ACS decides whether the report is “indicated” or “unfounded.” A parent can ask for an indicated report to be amended, but only within 90 days of being told, so don’t wait.
- 03
The petition
If ACS brings a case, it files a neglect or abuse petition in Family Court. The parent is the respondent, with the right to a lawyer, assigned by the court if they can’t afford one.
- 04
Removal and the return hearing
If children are removed in an emergency and not returned, ACS must file a petition by the next court day. A parent can ask for the children’s return, and the court must hold that hearing within three court days, except for good cause.
- 05
Fact-finding
ACS must prove neglect or abuse by a preponderance of the evidence. Some cases resolve before that point, for example with an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal.
- 06
Disposition and reunification
If there is a finding, a dispositional hearing decides what happens next, from supervision at home to placement. While children are in foster care, permanency hearings follow regularly.
The clock starts with the report.
Child welfare law runs on deadlines, and the first ones are short. These are the rules parents should know.
- For ACS to begin investigating a report
- 24hours
- For ACS to decide: indicated or unfounded
- 60days
- To a hearing when a parent asks for a removed child’s return
- 3court days
A parent has 90 days from being told a report is indicated to ask for it to be amended. An investigation can be over before most people think to call a lawyer.
Indicated or unfounded
A report can be “indicated” only if ACS finds a fair preponderance of the evidence of abuse or maltreatment (the standard since January 1, 2022). If a report is unfounded, the records identifying the people in it are legally sealed.
Neglect
In general terms, a child is neglected when a parent’s failure to exercise a minimum degree of care has harmed the child physically, mentally or emotionally, or put the child in imminent danger of that harm.
Your rights during an investigation
You may choose not to let ACS into your home, and you may call a lawyer at any point. ACS must still assess your child’s safety, and it can ask Family Court for an order to enter the home or to have the child produced.
Removal
A child can be removed without a court order only in an emergency: when staying home presents an imminent danger to the child’s life or health and there isn’t time to get an order. Otherwise removal requires a court order.
Indicated reports and jobs
An indicated report can be disclosed to child care, foster care and certain other employers, which must check the register. One of maltreatment more than eight years old generally isn’t, if there is no indicated report of abuse. Abuse reports have no such limit.
Termination of parental rights
A separate proceeding in which an agency asks the court to end a parent’s rights permanently, on grounds such as permanent neglect or abandonment, proven by clear and convincing evidence. An agency generally must file once a child has spent 15 of the last 22 months in foster care, unless an exception applies.
General information about New York law, not legal advice for your situation. The law changes and every case turns on its facts; the free consultation applies it to yours.
David defended me with ACS having a founded incident on my record. He was able to have it removed and records sealed. What moved me the most with him is that he fights for you as someone who really personally cares and not just as a lawyer on another job.
… He doesn't beat around the bush. IF YOU WANT SOMEONE TO CODDLE YOU AND TELL YOU WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR, THEN HE IS NOT THE ATTORNEY FOR YOU. …
Reviews are quoted exactly as clients wrote them and reflect individual experiences. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Read more client reviewsAn honest assessment, not a sales pitch.
Your free consultation covers how to achieve your goals, how your case will unfold, how long it will take, and the estimated costs.
Free consultations are virtual, by video or phone: start from anywhere.
Free virtual consultation · By video or phone · Confidential
ACS & Child Welfare: straight answers.
The questions people ask first, answered plainly. Your own facts are what the free consultation is for.
No. You may choose not to let ACS into your home. But ACS is still required to assess your child’s safety, and it can ask Family Court for an order to enter the home or have the child produced. How you respond matters: stay calm and respectful, and call a lawyer as soon as you can.
Yes. You may call a lawyer at any point during an investigation. What you tell a caseworker can end up in Family Court, so advice before the interview is worth having.
It means ACS found a fair preponderance of the evidence that abuse or maltreatment occurred. It is not a court finding, and it can be challenged: you can ask for it to be amended and sealed within 90 days of being told, and ask for an administrative fair hearing if the request isn’t granted.
Ask the court for their return right away. When a parent applies, the court must hold the hearing within three court days, except for good cause, and must return the children unless that would present an imminent risk to their life or health.
It can, for certain jobs. An indicated report can be disclosed when you apply for jobs, such as child care or foster care, that require a check of the Statewide Central Register. Unfounded reports are sealed. The rules on what is disclosed, and for how long, depend on the kind of report.
It can. A finding of neglect or abuse is evidence a custody court will weigh, and an open case often affects visitation. One lawyer handling both keeps the strategy consistent.
Begin the record.
What you’ll learn in your free consultation
- 01How to achieve your goals
- 02How your case will unfold
- 03How long it will take
- 04The estimated costs
An honest assessment, not a sales pitch.
Free consultations are virtual, by video or phone: start from anywhere.Same-day response from the firm