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NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ― The city's child welfare agency has beefed up its caseworker staff by one-third, increased its coordination with other city agencies, and implemented a new case tracking system in the year since the beating death of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown.

At the same time, it has seen an extraordinary increase in the number of child abuse and neglect reports, the agency says in a progress report. This year so far, the Administration for Children's Services has taken in about 64,000 reports of abuse and neglect, that is up nearly 33 percent from last year.

"We've dealt with a challenge that I have never seen the like of anywhere in the country -- a huge explosion in the number of reports," ACS Commissioner John Mattingly said. "We've had to investigate every one of them."

ACS leaders weren't surprised that reports initially spiked after the highly publicized death of Nixzmary in January. But the increase apparently wasn't a temporary phenomenon. And although the numbers dipped during the summer, they again went up, partly because school resumed.

Sharman Stein, an ACS spokeswoman, said it has become easier to report suspected abuse cases, because the city's 311 information line will transfer calls to the appropriate hot line. She also said a new ombudsman's office has become a resource for concerned callers who want to follow up on cases.

The agency is better equipped to deal with the increase after several initiatives to improve responses to cases, and an additional $16 million in funding from the city. The agency had fewer than 900 caseworkers in the field at the end of last year. It expects to have 1,300 by early next year, despite losing staff through ongoing attrition, Mattingly said.

"To the credit of ACS ... it's a lot easier to report than it used to be," said City Councilman Bill de Blasio, who chairs a committee that oversees the child welfare agency. "I also think a lot of us, whether it's the council or ACS have tried to keep people focused even after the tragedy. I believe this higher level reporting is much more reflective of what's going on."

De Blasio expressed concern about attrition at the agency, which has been a constant problem. Some months, 25 or more workers left, though others were constantly being hired.

"This is very tough work," he said. "If they can't hire as quickly as they lose people it'll be hard to keep the ratio down."

Another challenge has been keeping the caseload down for each worker. By the end of the summer the average caseload was 12, an ideal for the agency, but it has since edged up to about 15 cases per worker citywide. Nonetheless, the number is well below the 21 average cases that the smaller staff handled in the spring, according to the report, which will be formally released on Monday.

In the case of Nixzmary, authorities say her stepfather tortured, abused and beat the Brooklyn girl. Multiple agencies, including schools, police and child welfare, were aware of her situation, but none was able to prevent her death. Her stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez, and mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, have since been charged in her death.

Several employees at the city's child welfare agency were suspended after her death for failing to respond aggressively to reports of problems at the family's home.

Nixzmary's case was one of a rash of deaths of children whose homes had been investigated by ACS.

Other changes instituted by ACS since Nixzmary's death include using a new system called ChildStat, similar to the police department's CompStat program, which tracks crime statistics on a daily basis.

The report also notes that ACS also made several leadership changes and is working more closely with the police. The agency also has hired 20 "protective agents" with previous law enforcement experience to serve as consultants and help caseworkers improve their investigative skills.

Mattingly said part of the ongoing caseload increase is due to increased vigilance of school officials, who now face more specific timeframes to investigate pupil absences.

He also said he expects the additional funding will continue in the coming year.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)