Children's Services Graduates 137 New Child Protective Specialists

The Administration for Children's Services today graduated 137 new Child Protective Specialists (CPS) and one Investigative Consultant at a special ceremony at ACS' Children Center. Their hiring represents the agency's ongoing commitment to protecting children and keeping caseloads at a manageable level of 12 per caseworker. All graduates successfully completed a rigorous 6-week program which trained them to protect children from abuse and neglect through comprehensive investigations and child welfare assessments.

 
New CPS graduates listen attentively to address by Rev. Alfonso Wyatt.

"In the coming weeks, months and years, each one of you will encounter complex, frustrating situations; you will be forced to make difficult decisions, and sometimes you will feel overwhelmed," said Commissioner John B. Mattingly, in remarks to the graduating class. "However, you will never go home at the end of the day wondering if you did anything worthwhile or meaningful. You will know that you performed a vital role in the lives of vulnerable children who need your help."
 
The Reverend Alfonso Wyatt, Vice President of the Fund for New York and assistant pastor at the Allen AME Church in Queens, was the keynote speaker.  Rev. Wyatt gave the graduates seven rules to live by in their career.  He charged them to view their work as a calling not a paycheck; to be proactive instead of reactive; to not let themselves be defined by limitations; to do the best job possible; be empathetic; focus on the children they come contact with; and ensure that they take care of themselves so that can be revitalized physically, mentally and spiritually.  "Keep children foremost in your mind; don't look away from issues that are painful. See, don't look, because when you do, you may uncover something deeper. These children are our most vulnerable, and they deserve to be protected, educated and loved," said Rev. Wyatt.

 
Rev. Alfonso Wyatt

In welcoming the graduates to Children's Services, Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Child Protection, Jan Flory said as child protective specialists, the new graduates would only see a family at their most vulnerable.  "Families have strengths, and they have lives that go on without us, once their case is closed.  We have done our jobs if we feel comfortable knowing that we have left the family in a better position than we found them."

The class of new CPS was addressed by their fellow graduates Monique Thorne and Maria Guzman. Thorne, who has experience working with families in other countries, told her colleagues that compared to other systems with which she has worked, child welfare workers in New York City are much better prepared to help the families that they encounter. "This is our mission in life, to help the less fortunate…to help rebuild and help stabilize strong families and home; to continue to bring a change to the families that need it…and to help them raise their children in safe, loving and productive homes," she added. 

Her colleague, Maria Guzman, who spent many years in the private sector before becoming a social worker, told the class: "Strap on your seatbelts and hold on tight, because this job is a roller coaster ride and we're in it for the long haul."

The new graduating class joined the agency between August and December 2008. The graduates received training in child welfare practice, law and theories. Specifically, CPS received training to: conduct safety and risk assessments; investigate abuse and neglect allegations; work and communicate effectively with families; operate Children's Services' computer databases; make judgments on whether a placement is necessary; and reduce trauma to children and families.

The training took place at The James Satterwhite Academy which was founded in 1984 and is based at the ACS Children's Center in Manhattan, with classes also in the Jamaica section of Queens. The Satterwhite Academy has become a national role model for training highly skilled, professionalized corps of child protective workers. Its mission is to promote child welfare as a profession, educate staff with broad knowledge about the field and provide aspiring caseworkers with the ability to think critically.