New York, NY —
City officials have punished six workers for mistakes made in the case of Nixzmary Brown. The seven-year-old was allegedly beaten to death by her step-father. Both her parents have been charged with her murder. Child protective caseworkers were investigating reports of suspected abuse prior to Nixzmary’s death. WNYC’s Cindy Rodriguez reports.
REPORTER: For nearly a week, the case of Nixzmary Brown has made the front pages of all the major newspapers in New York. The public response to her murder is palpable. Hundreds showed up to mourn her at two wakes. People who did not know her cried for her.
[sound of church bells]
REPORTER: At a funeral yesterday the church was too full to accommodate everyone so dozens stood outside in the wind and rain. 64-year-old Carmen Alvarez was one of them.
ALVAREZ: (english voice over) I feel a lot for what happened to that little girl. She was a baby that didn’t know anything. She came into this world because they brought her here. What an injustice to die at 7 years old.
REPORTER: Nixzmary Brown is the fifth child known to the child welfare system that’s died since October. All the children lived in Brooklyn and one of them was monitored at the same field office as Nixmary. Still, the brutal details of her death struck a chord and many New Yorkers wanted accountability. Outside the funeral, those who attended debated who should be blamed.
MOURNERS: Everybody is quick to blame the system but the family comes first. The system was aware of what happened. It does not matter so was the family.
REPORTER: Six ACS employees handled the Nixzmary Brown case and the Administration for Children’s Services has moved quickly to hold them accountable. Commissioner John Mattingly said two supervisors and a caseworker would be suspended immediately without pay:
MATTINGLY: One of these supervisors was involved in and made the final decision in the May 2005 investigation into educational neglect and the other two staffers were involved in the December 2005 investigation into physical abuse.
REPORTER: Educators at the 7-year-old’s school, worried the child was being abused and had reported their suspicions to ACS at least three times. The first time came after the child was absent for 47 days. Nixzmary’s mother, Nixtaliz Santiago who is now facing murder charges, told the workers she had six children and was overwhelmed. The excuse was accepted and the case was closed. Mattingly said that was the wrong decision.
Caseworkers were given a second chance to intervene when they investigated another call from the school, this time about physical abuse. But when Nixzmary’s step-father made it difficult for them to enter the home, Mattingly says the caseworkers failed to get a warrant.
MATTINGLY: I’ve been doing this work for over 25 years and there are standards of practice that need to be met in protective investigations in order to avoid as much as possible these kinds of tragedies and these standards were not met in this case.
REPORTER: Three other workers were also disciplined for failing to meet the duties of their job. They’ve been re-assigned and their punishments could range from reprimands to termination.
MATTINGLY: In addition it is not enough to simply look toward the front line and say the front lines fault they didn’t follow procedure. It’s all of our responsibility from me on down and I want to make that clear to everyone.
REPORTER: In a shake down, the commissioner has reassigned top level administrators within the massive child welfare system bureaucracy. He said these professionals would be responsible for making sure caseworkers and their supervisors carry out the agencies policies. Two top officials were also demoted.
An outside advisory panel that regularly investigates child deaths within the system will continue to review what went wrong in the Nixzmary Brown case. The city’s Department of Investigations will also look into it. Prosecutors have said the abuse the 7 year old experienced was among the worst they’ve witnessed. Autopsy reports revealed she had cuts and bruises all over her body, two black eyes and a skull that was hit so hard her brain bled.
Mattingly said a review of all open cases within the agency will begin at the field office where Nixmary’s case was handled. Before ending his remarks, he made it a point to stand behind child protective case workers in the city.
MATTINGLY: I want to redouble my earnest request that the citizens of New York give respect and support to these people who are dedicated so much to this work.
REPORTER: The union that represents caseworkers called the agencies actions a rush to judgement. It plans to appeal the agencies decisions. All six employees will go through an internal hearing within 5 to 8 days.