Public Advocate Bill de Blasio Promotes Legislation and Citizen Action to Help Prevent Child Abuse

Here is news from our Public Advocate and what he is doing to help NYC understand and prevent child abuse.

Gregory

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here’s no more fundamental duty you can have as a parent or public official than protecting children. That’s why our office has combed through reports of children involved in the child welfare system who died in recent years. Our goal was to find trends and clues that will help us get to troubled families sooner and protect the most vulnerable children in New York City.

> Read the New York Times’ coverage of our report here

Our review of these cases showed that a majority of the children we’ve recently lost were the subject of previous reports of neglect and abuse—some had as many as 20 previous reports—showing the need to act on these red flags sooner. In the days ahead, we’ll be pushing new legislation in the City Council that will bring in outside experts to look at many of these cases and help connect the dots before tragedy strikes.

> Read the report here

This month marks the 6^th anniversary of Nixzmary Brown’s death, and we should all take this opportunity to do more to protect the children around us. As a friend, neighbor or family member, always be mindful of the signs of abuse or neglect and report them to 311, or 911 if you suspect a child is in immediate danger.

Sincerely,

Jeff S. Merritt
Senior Advisor
NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio