Nila Natarajan Associate Director, Policy & Family Defense, in the Family Defense Practice testified before the NYC Council Committee on Children & Youth, calling for reforms to the Administration for Children's Services (ACS) to reduce harm caused by family policing practices. The testimony highlighted how poverty, not neglect, drives most ACS investigations and urged the City to invest in community-based resources that support families without surveillance or coercion.

"We need to be deeply invested in caring for New York Families. Our ‘first line of defense’ must in fact be resourcing families and supporting parents."

Read the full testimony here.