Who the defendant usually is
New York City foster care is largely delivered through contracted agencies rather than
directly. A claim therefore usually runs against the agency that approved the home, made the
placement and was responsible for casework visits, and, depending on the facts, the city body
overseeing it.
The file is the case
Placement records, home study and licensing files, casework visit notes, incident reports and
correspondence with the family court are generated as a matter of routine and retained. They
record what the agency knew and when, which is usually the decisive question.
This is also why not remembering dates, or the agency’s name, is rarely an obstacle. Those
details are recoverable from the records.
If you aged out years ago
Many people who contact us about foster care are adults now, sometimes long out of the
system. That is the ordinary pattern in these cases. See
foster care abuse claims for how the duties work.
Time limits in New York depend on how old you were, who was responsible and the particular facts. There is no single deadline that applies to everyone. Ask rather than assume. It is a free call.
I do not know which agency handled my placement.
That is normal and recoverable. Placement records exist and the agency can usually be identified from approximate dates, the borough and the school you attended.
I aged out of the system years ago.
Most people who contact us about foster care are adults, often long out of care. Whether a claim is available depends on the facts rather than on your having left.
The foster parent was never prosecuted.
A claim usually runs against the agency responsible for approving and supervising the placement, and its failures are a separate question from any criminal case.