New York City families have filed a lawsuit against the City, alleging that the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) unconstitutionally abuses its “emergency removal” power to take children from their parents without a court order.

ACS routinely misuses this power, meant only for rare, truly urgent situations when there is not enough time to get a court order. ACS’s racially discriminatory Emergency Removal Policy violates families’ fundamental right to remain together. This government overreach causes deep and lasting harm, especially to Black and Latino families who are disproportionately targeted.

The class of parents is represented by the Family Justice Law Center, the NYU Family Defense Clinic, the CUNY School of Law Family Defense Clinic, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. The class of children is represented by The Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.

One plaintiff, Z was an avid 14-year-old artist when she was needlessly removed from her mom by ACS on an emergency basis. She was then taken to a shelter for children and had her art book containing two years of drawings taken by ACS and never returned. The loss of her art book by ACS has compounded the harm of this needless removal and took away a coping mechanism she had for stress. 

A photo of one of Z’s drawings,  although most were not preserved by photographs.

“ACS’s abuse of its emergency removal powers not only hurts children in the immediate moment of separation from their parents, but it also inflicts enduring physical, emotional, and psychological harm, resulting in trauma that persist throughout their lives,” said Dawne Mitchell, Chief Attorney of The Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice. 

“Children from communities of color face constant surveillance and targeting, and their families are routinely and unjustly torn apart,” she continued. “To truly protect children, like the eight children in this lawsuit, ACS must end its unconstitutional and abusive practices.”