Friday, January 13, 2017

Children put at risk by a system run by an incompetent one party city where crony business relationship flourish.


Fresh proof of deadly mismanagement at ACS


State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s new report on gross mismanagement at the city Administration for Children’s Services is just the latest sign of Mayor de Blasio’s deadly failure to lead.
DiNapoli revealed this week that ACS essentially thumbed its nose at warnings from state auditors back in 2015; Team de Blasio failed to implement a single one of the five recommendations.
Actually, ACS shouldn’t have needed any warning in the first place that extending and renewing contracts with dodgy outfits would put children at risk. 
The comptroller’s initial review flagged 12 contracts where the vendors had poor performance scores. Nine contracts involved outside agencies that had allowed child abuse by employees or foster parents — yet all were renewed. 
DiNapoli isn’t remotely a de Blasio rival. We note that because City Hall has muttered of political motives when hit by other reports on ACS horrors from city Comptroller Scott Stringer and Public Advocate Letitia James.
Yes, Stringer is aiming to challenge the mayor this year, and James just might — though she was a de Blasio ally back when she first started pushing for ACS reform.
Indeed, the public advocate also raised alarms about placing at-risk children in the “care” of troubled nonprofits. Her reports found that lax oversight and botched investigations by ACS of its contract agencies likely contributed to the deaths of eight children in 13 months. 
Stringer’s audits have flagged “pervasive mismanagement” at ACS, including systemic failure to follow its own guidelines. 
This, at an agency that de Blasio promised to manage better than the Bloom¬berg team. Instead, the new mayor’s team ignored red flag after red flag, from three different outside officials — until the high-profile tragedy of little Zymere Perkins finally forced the ouster of ACS chief Gladys Carrion.
And the imposition of an independent state monitor — though the mayor tried to pretend the monitor was the city’s idea. 
The overall ACS budget is nearly $3 billion; more than $774 million a year goes to 86 nonprofits to look after abused, neglected and sick children. 
That ought to be enough to keep kids safe — if ACS weren’t stuck with a culture of dysfunction, under the control of a mayor who can’t seem to manage any branch of city government.

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