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In October, New York City was horrified when 4-year-old Jahmeik Modlin died hours after being found malnourished and suffering from hypothermia, with reported burns on his skin, in his family’s Harlem apartment. It was just the latest in a much-too long line of kids who died despite their guardians having been investigated by the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). Here, an anonymous child protective specialist at ACS tells policing and public safety expert Hannah E. Meyers how the organization’s CARES program puts kids at risk in the name of promoting social justice by fighting racial disparity. I joined New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) as a child protective specialist to protect vulnerable children. Many children require such protection, and my caseload at any given time often exceeds 10 cases involving over 20 children. These cases range from neglect to severe abuse. I’ve seen horrors — like an infant blinded by shaken baby syndrome, with irreparable brain damage. In October, when 4-year-old Jahmeik Modlin became the sixth NYC child within three months to die of malnutrition , I, sadly, was not surprised. Despite this grim reality, ACS and city leadership have deprioritized investigations into child welfare, acting out of a false sense of compassion and social justice. Likely because minority families are disproportionately the subject of investigations, the ACS commissioner has vowed to reduce them — instead channeling 70% of cases into a family-led, non-investigative track called Collaborative Assessment, Response, Engagement & Support (CARES). The problem? CARES is meant for “low safety and low risk” cases, but determining risk without an investigation is guesswork. Under current guidelines, even cases involving drug addiction or abuse qualify for CARES. Before CARES, trained professionals investigated all reports of suspected child abuse or mistreatment. Today, a desk worker in the Applications department decides whether a case is “low risk” based solely on written reports. Those cases are then funneled to family assessment response units, where specialists like me — trained as investigators, not social workers — are expected to partner with the adult suspected of abuse or neglect. My role is limited to delivering referrals and resources, with no mandate to enforce their use. Families often disregard them, and I lack the training to provide meaningful support. The result? Families are set up to fail, and children are left in danger. Drug-addicted parents, for instance, cannot coherently “lead” a welfare case. Yet CARES expects mothers — often annoyed at “catching a case” — to lead the process, even when they’re the alleged abusers. This approach fails both children and families. The consequences are dire. In 2015, cases involving children under seven years old with drug-addicted caretakers required investigation. Today, these cases qualify for CARES. When I raised concerns, I was told active drug use isn’t enough; there must be evidence of harm to the child. But without investigation, how can harm be properly assessed? Take the case of De’Neil Timberlake , a 5-year-old who died on July 14, 2024. His father, a methadone user with a long ACS history, according to the NYPD, brought him to the hospital with a foaming mouth. Whether this was a CARES case is unclear, but it highlights the dangers of leaving children with drug-addicted parents. ACS has traded child safety for the pursuit of racial equity, embracing abstract ideals over facts and logic. This intellectualized squeamishness allows vulnerable children to remain in homes plagued by untreated mental illness or addiction. Even the courts have grown squeamish. In 2023, Judge Erik Pitchal returned baby Ella Vitalis to her violent parents despite overwhelming evidence of abuse, including broken ankles, a fractured skull and bite marks. Three weeks later, Ella died from a brain bleed. A preliminary cause of death was listed as homicide by the medical examiner, per a child fatality report. This isn’t an isolated failure; it’s a systemic movement toward ineffectiveness. Advocates of CARES praise its ability to foster “corrective understanding,” but many families never improve. Instead, they cycle through ACS repeatedly. Tools like “mood meters,” a chart used to identify emotions through emoji and “worry worms,” a knitted or rubber toy meant to encourage kids to talk about their fears, fail to address deep-rooted issues. Those who report abuse often plead for investigations when told their cases will be assigned to CARES — and for good reason. The high rate of recidivism proves their fears are valid. On August 14, 2024, 10-year-old Brian Santiago was found dead, starved to death beside his mother, who had fatally overdosed. Brian, a medically fragile special needs child, had been repeatedly investigated by ACS. He was once removed from his mother’s care, only to be returned—despite complaints of neglect, drug use and “failure to thrive.” In the end, he died of dehydration and starvation, abandoned by the system meant to protect him. This “hope and prayer” approach — hoping abusive parents will suddenly change — is suited for church, not child welfare investigations. CARES denies investigations and replaces fact-based analysis with ineffective, unsustainable interventions. It creates a dangerous lack of urgency and thoroughness, leaving children to suffer preventable tragedies. Contrast CARES with Operation We Will Find You, a 10-week initiative by the US Marshals Service. Between May and June 2024, they rescued 200 missing children, including runaways and abductees. This demonstrates that child welfare efforts can produce tangible, positive outcomes. ACS should follow their example. ACS, headed by Commissioner Jess Dannhauser , told The Post they receive approximately 1,000 reports of potential maltreatment each week. It claims that between January and October 2024 only 22% of cases have been assigned to CARES. The department added that all child protection specialists, including those who administer CARES “receive the same intense training.” ACS also said a “white family is just as likely to be tracked to CARES as a non-white family,” and that all decisions are based on the nature of the case and unrelated to race or ethnicity. For the sake of our most vulnerable, ACS must abandon its squeamishness and return to evidence-based child protection. Social experiments like CARES fail to ensure safety. Jahmeik, Ella, Brian and De’Neil would likely be alive today had they been removed from their dangerous homes and not returned. Our children deserve better.
NoneThe Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) has called for the standardisation of traditional medicines and their teaching in schools. Martins Emeje, the director-general of the agency, said this during a media parley organised to induct members of the media as ‘Journalists for Traditional Medicines’. The virtual media parley was themed, “The Media as Natural Medicine Ambassadors’’. Emeje said 80 percent of traditional medicines were highly effective in addressing health challenges, without pronounced side effects. He noted that allopathic medicine and its composition were being taught in Nigerian schools, stressing that the same pride of place should be accorded traditional medicines. The D-G discredited some claims that traditional medicines do not have dosage, adding that they were already applying nanotechnology to their composition. “We are in an era where we are applying nanotechnology to traditional medicine and we shall be reinforcing our research and development models. “The same way you enrol in school to learn pharmacy, we can as well learn traditional medicines in school, and it does not necessarily need to be taught by a professor with degrees,” he said. Emeje emphasised that Nigerians should be proud of their roots, adding that traditional medicines were sustained in the past, hence the need for it to be standardised. He recalled that the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), recently accredited NNMDA as the awarding body for National Skills Qualification in Traditional Medicine in the country. Emeje added that NBTE was already training its staff on quality assessment and implementing a curriculum as criteria to be qualified as a traditional medicine practitioner in Nigeria. “We will be having traditional medicine database development, training of traditional medicine practitioners, training and documentation of Nigeria’s biodiversity and tackling antimicrobial resistance. “We are going to work with religious medicine practitioners and native medicine practitioners at all levels in order to enhance their practice. “There must be standardisation of natural medicine across the board, and we have to develop standards with stakeholders, and we are not going to copy any country’s style,’’ he said. The D-G said it was time to save the country from the siege of importation that was weakening its economy and ensure Nigerian traditional medicines got its security. Emeje also emphasised the need to prioritise research, science, technology and innovation which were the drivers of development in countries. He called on the media to monitor and evaluate the agency, to ensure it remained focused on its mandate toward boosting the relevance of traditional medicines.
NEW YORK (AP) — Technology stocks pulled Wall Street to another record amid a mixed Monday of trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% from its all-time high set on Friday to post a record for the 54th time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 128 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Former Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla was on Tuesday appointed the governor of strife-torn Manipur which has been witnessing periodic ethnic clashes between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May last year. Former army chief Vijay Kumar Singh, who was also a minister in the last two terms of the Modi government, has been named the new Mizoram governor while Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has been shifted to Bihar, where assembly elections are due next year. Vishwanath Arlekar has been named the new governor of Kerala, according to the gubernatorial appointments to five states announced by the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday. Bhalla, who has the rare distinction of being the longest-serving Union Home Secretary, completed his five-year tenure in August this year. He is a 1984-batch retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. President Droupadi Murmu appointed Bhalla the governor of Manipur, a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said. Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya was holding the additional charge of Manipur. General (retd) Vijay Kumar Singh has been appointed Mizoram governor. Singh retired as Army chief in 2012 after a long-drawn battle with the government over his age issue and joined the BJP ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election, which he successfully contested from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. He retained the Ghaziabad seat in 2019. Singh did not contest general elections this year. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has been appointed as Bihar governor, the statement said. President Murmu has also accepted the resignation of Odisha Governor Raghubar Das. Mizoram Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati has been appointed as the new Odisha governor in place of Das, the statement said. These appointments will take effect from the dates they will assume charge of their respective offices, it added.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray had been enjoying a lot of hype for his play this season. He hadn't faced pressure like he has today against the Seattle Seahawks , though. Murray just came up pure cheeks in a high-leverage situation in the third quarter. It started with an incredible effort play by cornerback Devon Witherspoon , who peeled off his man and then pressured Murray all the way to the sideline. In a panic, Murray threw the ball in the general direction of Seattle's end zone. Coby Bryant did the rest. Watch. Kyler Murray throws pick-6 to Coby Bryant HOUSE CALL FOR COBY 🎱 pic.twitter.com/hiQNjq1uzw That's a huge swing play, resulting in a 10-point lead for Seattle after Jason Myers missed the extra point attempt. From a broader perspective, the home crowd is louder than it's been in a long time for a big game and the Seahawks defense looks like it's finally respectable again. Everyone in the NFC except the Detroit Lions are officially on notice. More Seahawks stories Seahawks predicted to trade for $275 million star quarterback in 2025 ex-Seahawks punter Jon Ryan shares his take on Aaron Rodgers critics PFF projects Seahawks draft massive Minnesota OT in 2025 NFL draftLopsided loss sinks the reeling Saints further into evaluation mode