The updated total represents a 16 percent jump over the original figure, which a state agency provided to 蜜桃影视 via a public records request in late December. 

Based on those records, 蜜桃影视 reported in January that school staff had made over 2,400 calls to the state鈥檚 child abuse hotline in the first three months of the 2021-22 school year and over 9,600 since the start of the pandemic 鈥� many of which, advocates say, were harmful to families and possibly the result of racial bias.

But according to the corrected counts, city school personnel made even more reports than previously known: 2,822 between September and November 2021, and 11,560 between August 2020 and November 2021. 

In late February, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services sent 蜜桃影视 its amended tabulation, noting that reports made by teachers were 鈥渋nadvertently excluded鈥� from the initial record it had provided in response to a November 2020 freedom of information request.

鈥淲hen the report was initially run for 鈥榮chool personnel,鈥� teachers were accidentally not included as a source,鈥� OCFS Records Access Officer Tracy Swanson wrote in an email. 鈥淥nce our data people realized the error, they reran the report and included the accurate data.鈥�

Having left out teachers was a 鈥渉uge oversight,鈥� said parent advocate Paullette Healy, who herself was subject to an investigation that ultimately found no evidence of neglect.

Gabriel Freiman, head of education practices at the legal nonprofit said the sheer number of reports of abuse and neglect made by school staff 鈥� over 11,500 from August 2020 to November 2021 鈥� 鈥渄emonstrates to me that our school system is really intertwined with the family regulation system.鈥�

Roughly 16 percent of all reports made by school personnel during that time period were from teachers, a comparison of the original and updated records reveals. The vast majority of calls came from other staff in the nation鈥檚 largest school district. School personnel are mandated by New York state law to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect to a central hotline.

鈥淭he way that this gets recorded, it鈥檚 the person who actually is 鈥� making the call to the [],鈥� said Freiman, who works with families navigating child welfare investigations. 鈥淚f a child discloses something to a teacher about what’s happening in the home and the teacher immediately goes and talks to the principal, it could be the principal that calls in the report or the counselor that calls in the report.鈥�

Healy doesn’t believe it was her child’s teacher who reported her and thinks it may have been a school psychologist with whom she had previous conflicts. Her child鈥檚 Brooklyn school did not respond to 蜜桃影视’s request for comment. 

Reporting done by The Hechinger Report and HuffPost in 2018 showed that school officials in select cases as a retaliation tactic against parents they find to be bothersome.

The new numbers matter because child welfare investigations disproportionately impact poor families of color and can cause devastating impacts for children and parents. Charges can stay on parents鈥� records for years, erasing job prospects in fields like child care. Most dire, children can be separated from their parents 鈥� a trauma that studies show is later associated with elevated risks of .

In New York City, some of children named in investigations are Black or Hispanic, while, together, those racial groups make up 60 percent of the city鈥檚 youth. Even among neighborhoods with similar poverty rates, those with greater shares of Black and Hispanic residents face , research shows.

Such disparities are 鈥渄eeply concerning,鈥� a spokesperson for the Administration for Children鈥檚 Services, the New York City agency tasked with looking into suspected cases of child abuse and neglect, said in mid-January. 

蜜桃影视 previously reported that many families investigated this school year by ACS say they were not neglecting their children, but rather keeping them home from school as a COVID precaution. Under the city鈥檚 own guidance instructing schools to have leniency in such cases, they say, they should never have been reported to the agency.

Mayor Eric Adams鈥檚 Sunday announcement that he plans to lift the city鈥檚 school mask mandate March 7 may add yet another reason for COVID-wary parents to fear returning their children to in-person learning 鈥� signaling the issue may be far from over.

鈥淓nding the mask mandate in @NYCSchools is a [middle finger] to Black, Latino, underrepresented Asian, disabled & immunocompromised kids & staff,鈥� parent organizer Tajh Sutton on Twitter.

But while the total reports from school staff was higher in the fall of 2021 [when NYC schools were in-person] than the fall of 2020 [when classes were online], the share of calls that included an allegation of educational neglect dropped significantly over that span, the state’s data show. Some 63 percent of the 1,996 reports made by school staff between September and November 2020 included an educational neglect charge, while just 31 percent of the 2,800 reports filed over the same span a year later raised the same claim.

ACS data provided to 蜜桃影视 also showed a decline in reports of educational neglect from NYC school staff. From Sept. 1, 2020 to Jan. 31, 2021, school personnel made 2,708 reports alleging educational neglect compared to 1,926 over that same time window in 2021-22, according to the agency鈥檚 numbers. 

鈥淎 large reason for the difference would be the guidance ACS and DOE worked on together with regard to when to call in a report, and the significant training and messaging that was done with teachers,鈥� an ACS spokesperson told 蜜桃影视.

The City reported in 2020 that during remote learning, some children who missed Zoom classes because their family lacked devices or home internet were , which could have also driven those numbers in the first year of the pandemic.

Healy鈥檚 ACS report came in early November 2021, after schools reopened without a remote option. The Brooklyn mother remained unconvinced it was safe to send her two children back into classrooms, having lost several relatives to COVID. So she filed home instruction applications for both kids and stayed in communication with school staff, she said. The whole time, her children accessed and submitted classwork via Google Classroom.

鈥淚 was in constant contact [with the schools],鈥� Healy told 蜜桃影视. 鈥溾�嬧�婣ll of the things that needed to happen were still happening.鈥�

Yet in early November, an ACS caseworker knocked on the door of her apartment. The agency had received a report of suspected educational neglect from a staff member at her younger child鈥檚 school.

Healy is an organizer with the advocacy group PRESS, , and was familiar with her rights as a parent. But still, the visit was jarring to the whole family. After the caseworker left, her 14 year-old son, who has autism, paced back and forth for an hour, worried that the unfamiliar woman would return with law enforcement, Healy said. Her 13 year-old child, who identifies as non-binary, had continued nightmares, fearing they would be taken away from the only home they knew. Even Healy couldn鈥檛 avoid creeping thoughts of the worst-case scenario.

鈥淵ou automatically think someone鈥檚 here to take my kids away,鈥� she said. 

Since November, the most recent month for which data are available, Freiman said that several clients have continued to navigate new child welfare reports 鈥� especially during the Omicron surge when the sheer volume of COVID cases often complicated school attendance.

鈥淲e were working with people where the parents had COVID so [were] required to quarantine, but their children didn’t and so the school was expecting them to come to school. But the parents didn’t have a way to get them there,鈥� explained the attorney. 鈥淲e have had situations where those kinds of problems have resulted in a call to the state central register.鈥� 

ACS has said it is trying to avoid such scenarios. 鈥淲e are 鈥� working together (with the Department of Education) to make sure that families are not reported to the state鈥檚 child abuse hotline solely because of [a] child鈥檚 absences from school,鈥� a spokesperson wrote in a Jan. 13 message to 蜜桃影视. The agency is providing training to professionals working with children on ways to support families without calling the hotline, they said.

But Healy says there鈥檚 still a long way to go. Her own case was closed in December after uncovering no evidence of neglect, but she鈥檚 still going through a time-intensive and costly legal process to clear her record of the investigation. She hopes that the Adams administration, including schools Chancellor David Banks, works to ensure that other families don鈥檛 have to endure the same hardship.

鈥淭he whole punitive measures that ACS has been delivering up until now still needs to be addressed,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e definitely want to make sure that this gets nipped in the bud under this particular chancellor before more parents are unfortunately held to this repercussion.鈥�

From early November through Jan. 1, the Bay Ridge, Brooklyn family was under investigation by the Administration for Children鈥檚 Services, or ACS, the New York City agency tasked with looking into suspected cases of child abuse and neglect. Healy had been reported for educational neglect for not sending her children to school amid COVID fears, even though she says her kids kept up with their work remotely. 

The report that spurred their investigation was one of more than 2,400 that New York City school personnel made to the during the first three months of the 2021-22 school year, according to data obtained by 蜜桃影视 through a public record request 鈥� about 45 percent more than were reported over the same time span a year prior when most of the city鈥檚 . From August 2020 to November 2021, records show NYC school staff made a total of 9,674 reports. 

The highest monthly tally, 1,046, came in November 2021, the same month that ACS and the Department of Education issued 鈥嬧�媔nstructing schools to have patience with families keeping their children home due to COVID-19 concerns, and to avoid jumping to allegations of educational neglect when students don鈥檛 show up.

About a third of the reports from NYC school personnel from September through November 鈥� 839 out of 2,412 鈥� included an allegation of educational neglect. Of that total, just over half named educational neglect as the sole allegation, according to an ACS spokesperson, who pointed out that the rate was actually higher pre-COVID in the fall of 2019, when about 40 percent of reports from city school personnel alleged educational neglect.

Many of the families caught up in COVID-related investigations this school year, including the Healys, say that given the DOE’s statements and guidance, their ACS reports should never have been made.

Child welfare investigations, which disproportionately involve low-income families of color, can have devastating impacts. Charges can stay on parents鈥� records for years 鈥� even in cases like Healy鈥檚 where the agency ultimately found no evidence of neglect. Job prospects in fields like child care and education can be erased. And most dire, children can be separated from their parents 鈥� a trauma that studies show is later associated with elevated risks of .

ACS has clarified that, on its own, missing class should not be a reason for educators to suspect neglect. 鈥淲e are 鈥� working together (with the DOE) to make sure that families are not reported to the state鈥檚 child abuse hotline solely because of [a] child鈥檚 absences from school,鈥� a spokesperson wrote in a Jan. 13 email to 蜜桃影视, adding that the agency is providing training to professionals working with children on ways to support families without calling the hotline.

But now, after New York City student attendance rates plunged in early January amid surging Omicron cases, and with over how the Adams administration will approach remote learning, questions swirl over whether even more families may get entangled in the child welfare web.

鈥淚’m 鈥� worried about who’s going to be asked to answer for the decisions that they made in the wake of Omicron,鈥� said Gabriel Freiman, head of education practices at the legal nonprofit .

Healy echoed the concern, adding that families who kept children home amid the surge may be 鈥渧ulnerable to possible investigation.鈥�

How did we get here?

Rewind to the fall: New York City announced that schools would open in-person with no option for remote learning, and Healy was terrified. She had suffered massive personal losses through the pandemic 鈥� more than a dozen of her relatives had died of the virus, she said, ranging in age from 36 to 87 鈥� and the Brooklyn mother remained unconvinced that sending her children into crowded buildings was a good idea. She quickly submitted applications for home instruction for both of her kids. 

Meanwhile, just before classrooms reopened, the nation鈥檚 largest school district made a vow to parents: 鈥淭he only time ACS will intervene is if there is a clear intent to keep a child from being educated, period,鈥� then-schools Chancellor Meisha Porter said during a September . 鈥淲e want to work with our families because we recognize what families have been through.鈥�

Even while remote, Healy鈥檚 kids were still learning, she said. Both were accessing and submitting coursework via Google Classroom. She had even met with school staff to update both children鈥檚 Individualized Education Programs, the plans that spell out their special needs and mandated school services.

鈥淚 was in constant contact (with the schools),鈥� Healy said. 鈥溾�嬧�婣ll of the things that needed to happen were still happening.鈥�

So it caught Healy off guard when, in early November, an ACS caseworker knocked on her door. The agency had received a report of suspected educational neglect from a staff member at her younger child鈥檚 school.

Healy had understood that a visit from ACS was a possibility. As a member of the advocacy group PRESS, , she knew of numerous other parents keeping their children home from school due to coronavirus concerns who had been investigated. She had even put together informing parents of their rights when ACS shows up. But her own investigation still took her by surprise. If anything, she was over-involved in her children鈥檚 education, she thought, not neglectful. 

鈥淚鈥檝e always inserted myself into the schools whether they wanted me there or not,鈥� Healy joked.

Familiar with her rights as a parent, Healy did not let the caseworker inside their house. But despite being armed with strategies to navigate the situation, the visit was jarring to the whole family. After the caseworker left, her 14 year-old son, who has autism, paced back and forth for an hour, worried that the unfamiliar woman would return with law enforcement, Healy said. Her 13 year-old child, who identifies as non-binary, had continued nightmares, fearing they would be taken away from the only home they knew. Even Healy herself couldn鈥檛 avoid creeping thoughts of the worst-case scenario.

鈥淵ou automatically think someone’s here to take my kids away,鈥� she told 蜜桃影视.

鈥楢CS is like the police鈥�

Just like doctors and nurses, school personnel are mandated by New York state law to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect to a central hotline. But even before COVID-19, alike have critiqued the practice as potentially harmful to families and prone to racial bias.

In New York City, some of children named in ACS investigations are Black or Hispanic, while, together, those racial groups make up 60 percent of the city鈥檚 youth. In 2019, according to , the lower-income, mostly Black and Latino neighborhood of East Harlem saw over six times as many investigations as the nearby Upper East Side, which is mostly white and affluent.

Even among neighborhoods with similar poverty rates, those with greater shares of Black and Hispanic residents face , research shows.

鈥淎CS has long been used to criminalize our families,鈥� said Tanesha Grant, a New York City parent leader who formed the group for mutual aid throughout the pandemic. Many Black parents, she told 蜜桃影视, see child protective services as a form of racialized surveillance and punishment. 

鈥淎CS is a curse word in our community. ACS is like the police,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t is deeply concerning to us,鈥� said a spokesperson for the agency, 鈥渢hat, year after year, there are dramatic racial and ethnic disparities in the reports ACS receives from the state and is required [by law] to investigate.鈥� 

As per a 2021 state , mandated reporters are now required to undergo implicit bias training intended to keep reporters鈥� assumptions from coloring their assessments of parental fitness.

But just how much of an impact it will make in the K-12 setting remains to be seen. Nationwide, school staff report more allegations to child protective services than any other category of reporters, yet school reports are or lead to family interventions, research shows. In New York City, approximately 1 in 3 calls from school personnel ultimately lead to evidence of abuse or neglect, said ACS. In cases where no evidence is found, families often report that the investigation process can be .

There鈥檚 often a mismatch, said Freiman, of Brooklyn Defenders, between the typical impacts of child protective services investigations and the purpose they are meant to fulfill.

鈥淣eglect is supposed to cover a category below which we don’t expect any parent to go,鈥� the legal expert explained. 

But the parents keeping their children out of classrooms this school year, from what he has seen, tend to be highly involved and caring, like Healy. Some are even former PTA heads at their children鈥檚 schools. 

鈥淭hese aren’t people who are trying to hurt their children. They’re trying to protect their children,鈥� he told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淎CS is just the wrong tool to employ.鈥�

Even the softer guidance that ACS and DOE offered in November was not enough to sufficiently blunt that tool, advocates said. Healy said she worked with 50 families accused of educational neglect through PRESS and was only able to use the updated guidance to dismiss cases against two of them. 

Miranda rights for child welfare

As a way to mitigate some of the worst effects of ACS investigations, state Sen. Jabari Brisport, a former educator from Brooklyn, is that would require a Miranda-style reading of parents鈥� rights at the outset of every child welfare investigation. 

鈥淧arents of color are more likely to be unaware of the rights they have when dealing with [child protective services],鈥� Brisport told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淭he bill seeks to address the disparities in the CPS system.鈥�

When, without warning, ACS showed up at the door of Melissa Keaton鈥檚 Flatbush, Brooklyn apartment in late October, the mother was taken by surprise. Having lost her father, who was a caregiving adult to her 9-year-old daughter, in April 2020 during the city鈥檚 deadly first coronavirus wave, Keaton chose not to return her traumatized child to her sought-after dual language school in Manhattan鈥檚 Lower East Side when classrooms reopened. The family was not ready for a two-train commute to and from school each day, Keaton decided. Unlike Healy, she was in the dark about how to navigate the interaction with her caseworker.

鈥淭here’s no paperwork. There’s no way of, you know, finding out what is this process? How does it work? What is expected of me?鈥� Keaton told 蜜桃影视.

Parents are not legally obligated to allow caseworkers to enter their homes unless ACS has a warrant. But many parents assent without realizing they have a choice. If caseworkers find evidence of drug use or other outlawed practices, it can lead to compounding charges and increase the likelihood of child separation. 

鈥淪ometimes our families actually find themselves in a deeper hole 鈥斅爊ot because they’ve done anything wrong 鈥斅燽ut because ACS comes into the home looking for a problem,鈥� said Tajh Sutton, a PRESS organizer. 鈥淭hey’re going through your refrigerator, your cabinets 鈥� asking these really invasive and inappropriate questions of your children.鈥�

鈥淭his bill doesn鈥檛 create new rights,鈥� explained Brisport. 鈥淚t literally tells parents what their rights are.鈥�

鈥楢CS should not have been called鈥�

Despite the lasting psychological impacts of the neglect investigation upon her children, Healy also acknowledged that her caseworker was kind and actually quite helpful. The staffer fast-tracked her children鈥檚 applications for home instruction, helping her younger child recently gain approval for the program. Healy hopes her son will also soon be approved.

But her example, she believes, is an outlier. Not everyone is so fortunate. 

On Dec. 23, Keaton was preparing to lay flowers on the gravestone of her late father. The day marked what would have been his 63rd birthday 鈥� and because her dad鈥檚 December birthday used to be a part of the family鈥檚 holiday rituals, Keaton was feeling his absence even more acutely.

But before she left, she was contacted by her caseworker, who relayed what the mother thought was good news: She was ready to close the case. Keaton told her to come by.

When the caseworker arrived, she told Keaton that the investigation had been completed, but the agency had indeed found evidence of neglect. The news hit her like a thunderclap, Keaton said, stirring fears for how she might appeal, what the findings might mean for her future employment having previously worked at a children鈥檚 summer camps, and, most of all, whether it opened the possibility of her daughter being taken away.

The message, Keaton said, was 鈥渋mprinted in my mind throughout the holidays, along with the thought of, 鈥榃hat happens next?鈥欌�� 

The caseworker instructed her to appeal, Keaton said. When pressed on the evidence behind the finding of neglect, Keaton said, the caseworker explained that her daughter鈥檚 school had taken weeks to respond to requests, and when they did, they cited her elementary schooler鈥檚 inconsistent 2019 summer school attendance as a strike against the family 鈥� data that Keaton said is 鈥渃ompletely false.鈥�

Staff at the elementary school did not respond to requests for comment and ACS said that it cannot disclose the details of individual cases. Keaton is awaiting paperwork in the mail that will provide insight into the exact reasons the educational neglect allegation was substantiated by ACS. 

Keaton believes her case was unproductive at best, and inappropriate at worst. She was trying to keep her daughter safe and had been putting together educational assignments for her despite, she said, not being provided materials by her school. She was also applying for medically necessary home instruction 鈥� a process through which the November ACS and DOE joint guidance instructs schools to support parents wary of COVID rather than reporting them to child services. 

鈥淏ased on the guidelines,鈥� said Keaton, 鈥淎CS should not have been called.鈥�

Lead Image: Paullette Healy at the front door with her younger child, Kira. (Asher Lehrer-Small)