(WNY News Now) – Albany – A recent follow-up audit reveals that while some progress has been made, critical gaps remain in New York’s oversight of child welfare investigations, leaving vulnerable children at risk.
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) has made limited strides in improving its oversight of Child Protective Services (CPS) following a 2021 audit that highlighted deficiencies in handling child abuse and maltreatment cases. A follow-up audit issued on September 6, 2024, examined the extent to which OCFS has implemented the recommendations outlined in the original report, with findings that show mixed results.
The initial audit, conducted between January 2018 and November 2021, revealed significant shortcomings in OCFS’s oversight of 58 local departments of social services (LDSSs), which are responsible for investigating child abuse reports. It particularly criticized OCFS’s handling of child fatality reviews and its Program Quality Improvement (PQI) process, which was designed to enhance consistency in investigations. The report also pointed out the improper closure of non-report calls and insufficient retention of call recordings, hampering efforts to retroactively investigate mishandled reports.
In response to the 2021 audit, OCFS was given three recommendations to improve its oversight. According to the follow-up audit, only one recommendation has been fully implemented, while the other two remain partially addressed.
One of the partially implemented recommendations involves improving the accuracy of closure codes for calls that do not result in reports. OCFS must ensure that reasons for not registering calls as official reports are transparent and clearly communicated to callers, with an option for supervisory consultation when necessary.
Another partially implemented recommendation focuses on child fatality reviews. While OCFS is legally required to review and issue reports on child deaths within six months, the initial audit found inconsistencies in how these reviews were conducted across LDSSs. Although improvements have been made, full consistency across the state has yet to be achieved.
The sole recommendation that has been fully implemented relates to the PQI process. Introduced in 2020, this process involves dedicated case reviews to identify and address systemic issues within local departments. The follow-up audit confirms that OCFS has successfully implemented this aspect of its oversight responsibilities, contributing to more uniform case reviews across counties.
Despite these improvements, the audit stresses that OCFS has much more to do to safeguard children effectively. The agency is requested—but not required—to provide details within 30 days on how it plans to address the remaining gaps identified in the follow-up report.
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