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Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Administration for Children's Services Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta today released the final draft of a plan that will serve as a blueprint for the next phase of reform of the City's children's services system. The reform plan, entitled "A Renewed Plan of Action for the Administration for Children's Services", was developed over the past six months by ACS staff and representatives from every sector of the children's services community.

"The plan we announce today builds on the remarkable record of reform which ACS and its partners in the children's services community have been able to achieve over the past five years," Mayor Giuliani said." In 1996 we began our struggle to change and improve children's services by creating a separate agency that could be held accountable and drafting a Reform Plan as our guide for change. Now that ACS has accomplished or made significant progress on the original reform goals, it is time to move into the next phase of reform. This plan seeks to ensure that the progress we have made to date is secured and that further reform is pursued."

The new plan of action is organized around four major areas:

• Further develop and expand neighborhood-based services;
  
  
• Strengthen the availability, quality and affordability of child care services;
  
  
• Improving the achievement of permanency for children, and a more intense engagement of families; and
  
  
• Developing systems of continuous quality improvement in all ACS services.

Other continuing priorities outlined in the reform plan include child protective services, preventive services, placement services, medical services, services for adolescents in care, staff and contract agency training programs, and administrative and capital programs.

"Today's plan outlining further reform is a joint effort between ACS and the entire children's services community," Commissioner Scoppetta said. "By creating ACS and providing the financial resources and political commitment necessary for its success, Mayor Giuliani created an atmosphere conducive to reform. It has enabled ACS to work collaboratively with contract agencies, the courts, independent advocates, law enforcement and educational officials, and other stakeholders to accomplish positive change. This is a plan that celebrates a solid record of achievement, but acknowledges there is much more to be done, and sets out a plan to accomplish it."

The new reform plan also incorporates specific, aggressive timetables and benchmarks for measuring progress and holding the system accountable for its performance. According to a December 2000 report by the Special Child Welfare Advisory Panel, which conducted a two-year review of ACS, the agency has made "remarkable progress" and has "…engaged in a sustained, intelligent effort to change a complicated and difficult system." The panel also reported that the "…record of accomplishment already compiled by ACS should be the public's best evidence that it can demand further change with confidence that it can be accomplished."

ACS's major achievements since its establishment in 1996 include:

• A record 20,400 adoptions, an increase of 65% over the previous five years;
  
  
• Reduction of the foster care population from 42,000 in 1996 to 31,000 currently;
  
  
• An increase in child support collections from $241 million in 1996 to $404 million currently;
  
  
• A major expansion of day care and Head Start programs;
  
  
• Development of a neighborhood-based children's services system;
  
  
• Implementation of Instant Response Teams to respond to severe cases of child abuse; and
  
  
• Implementation of Child Safety Conferences 72 hours following the removal of a child

In an effort to upgrade and professionalize standards and staff, ACS created the first ever Civil Service titles for child protective workers; increased educational standards and salaries; reduced monthly caseloads from an average of 27 cases in 1996 to 13 cases currently; created an annual $3 million MSW Scholarship Program for 200 ACS employees; and doubled the number of field supervisors.

These reforms were achieved by implementing Acs's first reform plan, "Protecting the Children of New York - A Plan Of Action For ACS," issued by Mayor Giuliani and Commissioner Scoppetta on December 19, 1996.

As part of the planning process for the new reform plan, ACS hosted a two-day planning conference this past March. The conference was attended by more than 500 representatives of foster care, adoption, preventive services, child care and Head Start programs; as well as advocates, parents and foster parents, foster care youth, public officials and 200 ACS staff. The conference reviewed proposals for institutionalizing reforms and planning new initiatives. As a result of the work accomplished at the conference, ACS drafted the plan that is being released today. It will be in final draft form until final comments are received from those who attended the conference.

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