Mar 22, 2007 10:09 am US/Eastern
ACS Expected To Remove Hundreds Of Workers
by Magee Hickey
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
The layoffs off 650 child welfare workers is part of a plan to improve child safety in the wake of the 2006 death of 7-year-old Nixmary Brown.
Child Tragedy: Nixzmary BrownAccording to the Commissioner for Children's Services, the sweeping changes signal a shift in the way the city agency works.
The ACS will now be giving more money and freedom to private agencies that place foster kids in homes and centers.
The 650 workers getting the pink slips had been in charge of reviewing decisions by the private agencies. Once they're dismissed, they can apply for 500 new management jobs, but the catch there is the new positions require a master's degree.
Also, the new hires will be required to go out into the field and work directly with the agencies to help foster kids, instead of their old jobs, which commissioner John Mattingly said consisted of sitting behind a desk and pushing papers.
The head of the union Local 371, Charles Ensley, reportedly said ACS officials "came like thieves in the night to steal jobs." He is vowing to fight the layoffs, saying the decision is not a "fait accompli."
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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