The final approved budget does not include the $200 million sought as payouts for legal settlements, frustrating survivors and the agencies that once served them.
When New York lawmakers passed a final budget last month, they did nothing to address the hundreds of people seeking payouts for sexual abuse they say they suffered in the state’s child-serving institutions — cases dating back to the 1950s. The decision amounted to no bailout for the dozens of foster care agencies being sued, whose leaders say the weight of legal settlements could force them to scale back essential services or even shut down.
Roughly 800 lawsuits have been filed against local child welfare agencies in the state since passage of the state’s 2019 Child Victims Act lifted statutes of limitation for survivors to file legal claims against alleged perpetrators. Among them are former foster youth who seek monetary damages and accountability for incidents that have caused them a lifetime of trauma.
Legal documents detail horrific abuse endured by children in group homes and under the care of foster parents. Several blame negligent staff who ignored their persistent complaints. In one lawsuit against Children’s Village, plaintiff Stephen Dixson stated he was 10 years old when he was “repeatedly physically and sexually abused by older and stronger minor residents” in his bedroom. In another, a plaintiff identified as T.B. was placed into a foster home in Queens by Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York, where she was sexually abused by her foster mother. The lawsuit states that the girl’s biological mother reported the abuse at the time, but no investigation was conducted and her daughter was left in the home of her abuser.
“These victims’ lives have been ruined forever. They deserve justice,” Helene Weiss, a lawyer whose firm is representing dozens of survivors suing under the Child Victims Act, said in an email. “It is incredibly disappointing that New York State decided not to prioritize the needs of survivors of sexual abuse — survivors who were harmed under the State’s watch.”
The state’s child welfare agencies also lobbied for the much-awaited payouts. In a statement the day the state’s $237 billion budget passed, the trade association representing the nonprofit caregivers expressed similar dismay.
“The final budget does not address an urgent and pressing need to ensure that New Yorkers have continued access to critical programs and services, and that survivors can access justice through the suits they have brought forward under the state’s Child Victims Act,” Kathleen Brady-Stepien, president and CEO of the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies wrote in a press statement.
All sides of the lawsuit had urged passage of failed legislation, authored by Assemblymember Jen Lunsford, that would have created a $200 million fund for eligible public school districts and foster care agencies facing lawsuits under the Child Victims Act to draw from. Eligible child-serving institutions would have to prove they lacked financial resources and the ability to settle the suits with insurance money, and thus would not be simply skirting responsibility for the abuse, the author noted.
In an interview with The Imprint, Lunsford emphasized that the agencies in her district, Monroe County, are currently struggling with too few staff and if legal settlements further debilitate their budgets, the children they serve would be forced to “pick up the pieces.”
“If these agencies don’t exist to provide temporary housing while we find foster care placement, there are going to be kids who are caught in the crossfire that are not going to be served,” Lunsford said.
Indeed, there are other examples of industry woes. Last year, the New York City-based Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services shut down after 200 years of service, due to “chronic underfunding and late government payments.” And the field has also been plagued by poor staff retention and difficulty obtaining insurance.
In a 2021 internal survey conducted by the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies, member nonprofits reported heightened alarm about their ability to withstand the legal challenges under the Child Victims Act, and to remain financially solvent.
“There aren’t financial resources available to be able to ensure that survivors who have brought their cases forward can access justice in terms of a settlement or payout amount,” Brady-Stepien said in a February interview.
As an example, in January, Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch filed for bankruptcy, stating the financial woes resulted in part due to four lawsuits under the Child Victims Act that alleged sexual abuse of boys under the agency’s watch.
Assemblymember Lunsford and nonprofit leaders who sought a government bailout to repay the survivors said they understood the importance of justice in the cases of past abuse. But they argue that many are decades-old, and involve staff no longer employed at the agencies they’re suing.
But Joelle Casteix, a survivor of child sexual abuse, praised those brave enough to file suit. The founding member of Zero Abuse Project, a nonprofit that advocates for recognition, prevention and response to child sex abuse, said a timely response is the least of what the plaintiffs deserve and sends a powerful message to others who would cause children harm.
“The more we empower survivors, the more we normalize the discussion of abuse, and the more we empower kids to speak out while the abuse is going on, so we can put predators behind bars,” she said.
Meanwhile, as a trickle of New York lawsuits have reached settlements, it could be years before survivors see any actual money. Lunsford called again for the state to step up, lest agencies continue to fold and children are left in foster care underserved.
“Without reimbursements, you are going to harm the kids who were there today,” Lunsford said. “And I don’t think that’s justice.”
