Lawsuit Accuses NYC Child Protective Services of Coercive Searches

“We Don’t Need a Warrant"

​A federal class-action lawsuit in Brooklyn claims that caseworkers from New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services use lies, coercive techniques, and threats to gain entry into homes without a court order.
 
The plaintiffs tell a chilling story in their filing.
 
“One night, without warning, a mother in New York City hears a knock on the door. Her children are home with her. The family is cooking, or playing, or sleeping.
 
“When the mother opens the door, two government investigators are standing outside, loudly demanding to be let inside. She is surprised and confused. She asks what this is about. The investigators command the mother. You have to let us in. We need to look in your home. We don’t need a warrant. We’re going to get the police here if you refuse. We’re not leaving until we come inside. If you don’t let us in, we’re going to take your children.
 
“The mother has no choice, it seems. Terrified, she reluctantly opens the door and steps aside, and the investigators walk into her home. It is clear that there is no present danger to anyone in the house, but still the investigators search the home top to bottom. They look inside medicine cabinets, under beds, in closets and dresser drawers, in the refrigerator, and in the cupboards. The mother does not know why this is happening. The children are scared by the strangers combing through their clothes.
 
“The investigators demand to see the children’s bodies under their clothes. They tell the mother to leave them alone in a room with her children. The investigators command the children. Lift up your shirt. Pull down your pants. I need to see your chest, your legs, your back. The mother fears that if she does not acquiesce to the investigators’ demands, they will take her children at any moment. Her fear is reasonable; the investigators are telling her that might happen.
 
“The investigators leave as abruptly as they arrived. They have threatened to return, even though they found no evidence that the children are in danger. There seem to be no rules and no laws to protect the mother and her children from this intrusion.”
 
This may seem a little novelistic for a court filing. Yet this vignette agrees with an interview given by one of the plaintiffs, Shavano Warmington, a mother of six who lives in Queens. She told The New York Daily News, “When ACS comes, they treat me like a criminal in my own home. They give no respect to my wishes. They come banging the doors so loud that the neighbors came out wanting to know what was going on. The caseworkers don’t show identification and they threaten to bring the police if I don’t allow them entry.”
 
As with law enforcement, child protective agencies must balance their need to investigate against the need to respect the Fourth Amendment, which forbids entry into a home without a warrant. An ACS spokeswoman told The Daily News that the agency is expanding an initiative to inform families of their rights during child welfare probes.
 
It should be said that these claims have yet to be adjudicated. We affirm that society has no more urgent or solemn obligation than to protect children. For this reason, the child protective service agencies throughout the United States are instrumental in investigating possible cases of abuse and neglect. Surely this important job can be performed with sensitivity and respect for the constitutional rights of parents.