Brian Lear on WNYC if If the city of New York suspects a parent is engaging in child abuse or neglect, what are caseworkers allowed to do to investigate and what investigation techniques might violate the rights of the parents

and maybe not even be in the best interest of the child.

That's the question at the heart of a new lawsuit filed against the city by a group called the Family

Justice Law Center.

It alleges that the city's administration for children's services uses coercive and

invasive tactics that violate the Fourth Amendment's reasonable search and seizure clause

and leads to unnecessary trauma and family separation. The city denies the charge. We will talk to one of the plaintiffs now and the plaintiff's lead attorney. The attorney is David Shalock Klein, founder of the family justice law center. The plaintiff is New York City parent

Shalanda Curtis Hackett.

David and Shalanda thanks very much for coming on.

Welcome to WNYC.

Thanks for having us Brian.

Thank you.

David everyone wants children protected from having us Brian. Brian. Thank you.

David, everyone wants children protected from actual abuse or neglect.

So with that as a given, want to take a minute or two and lay out the basics of your case?

That's absolutely right.

And this case is all about making New York City a more just and more safe place for children, for parents, and for family units.

Every year in New York City, the Administration for Children Services,

ACS, conducts over 50,000 investigations every year.

And in almost nearly every single one of these investigations,

they conduct home searches and they frequently conduct. They conduct

strip searches of children.

...