Two Black women attorneys who have challenged the foster care system are finalists for the top ACS job
A Vacancy That Speaks Volumes About Mamdani’s Priorities
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani entered office without naming a commissioner to lead the Administration for Children’s Services — making him the first mayor in the agency’s 30-year history to do so. That gap, initially a source of criticism, has taken on new significance as details of his finalist search have emerged. According to reporting by The Imprint and NBC New York, the Mamdani administration has narrowed its shortlist to two Black women attorneys who have spent their careers representing low-income families accused of abuse or neglect — and both have been sharply critical of the agency they may soon lead. Current Commissioner Jess Dannhauser, who submitted his resignation in early January, has overseen a significant reduction in the foster care population. Fewer than 6,400 children are currently in ACS custody — the lowest number in decades. His departure without a named successor has left child welfare advocates, current and former caseworkers, and elected officials watching the selection process closely.
The Two Finalists and What They Represent
The leading candidate, Angela Burton, has described ACS’s child protective services unit as “the family police” in public writings and has used the language of abolition in critiquing the agency’s approach to poor families of color. A second finalist has similarly railed against a system she argues separates too many Black mothers from their children on the basis of unproven allegations. Both candidates are attorneys who have spent years on the other side of child welfare proceedings, representing parents rather than the state. That background is itself a departure from the typical ACS commissioner profile, which has historically been drawn from within the child welfare or nonprofit sector. Senior Mamdani administration officials confirmed to NBC New York that additional rounds of interviews were underway, and that the administration has been made aware of concerns from current and former ACS staff, caseworkers, nonprofit foster care agencies, and members of Mamdani’s own transition team about how Burton’s stated philosophy might translate into agency leadership. Abolishing ACS, importantly, is not something Mamdani has proposed. New York State law requires all counties to investigate reports of child abuse and neglect within 24 to 48 hours.
The Racial Equity Dimension
The candidates’ focus on racial disparities in the child welfare system is grounded in documented reality. More than 6,000 foster youth in ACS custody are overwhelmingly Black and Latino — well above their share of the general population. Research on the child welfare system nationally has documented that poverty, rather than abuse or neglect per se, is often the proximate cause of family separation. Families of color, particularly Black families, are disproportionately investigated, separated, and subjected to state intervention. The child welfare reform movement has increasingly argued that the system causes its own harms — that the trauma of family separation can exceed the harms it seeks to prevent in cases involving poverty rather than violence. This is not a fringe position: it has been adopted by major law schools, child welfare research centers, and reform-minded practitioners across the country.
What the Selection Will Signal
The choice of ACS commissioner will be one of the most consequential appointments Mamdani makes. The agency is enormous, its decisions are life-altering for the families it touches, and the political terrain is treacherous. An abolitionist-aligned commissioner would likely face intense scrutiny if any child in ACS custody is harmed. A more incrementalist choice might disappoint the advocates and organizers who powered Mamdani’s rise. For evidence-based perspectives on child welfare reform, the Chronicle of Social Change is among the nation’s leading sources. The racial disparities in foster care are extensively documented by the Child Welfare Information Gateway. ACS policy history and current data are available through the NYC Administration for Children’s Services. The broader reform movement’s intellectual framework is explored at the The Imprint, the national publication that broke this story. The appointment is expected soon. Whatever Mamdani decides will tell New Yorkers a great deal about how willing his administration is to make structural changes — and how much political risk it is prepared to absorb to do so.
