New York state failed to give parents a timely chance to remove their names from a statewide database meant for people who have mistreated or abused children, defying an earlier agreement the state had made to reduce wait times, according to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan on Thursday.
When parents challenge being on the list, it can take months, sometimes years, for them to go through the process. In the meantime, they are barred from a wide range of jobs, including in the medical field and as caretakers, according to the suit.
The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, claims that the harmful delays are because of the “policies, practices, and customs” at the Office of Children and Family Services, which administers the registry.
Of the approximately 20,400 parents who were given hearings to challenge their case in 2020 through mid-2025, over 4,800 people waited at least a year to receive a decision, the suit said, and some parents waited over seven years. The delays hit Black and brown parents disproportionately, according to the lawsuit, and are unconstitutional.
The suit names Office of Children and Family Services officials, including the commissioner, DaMia Harris-Madden, as defendants. It was filed by the Family Justice Law Center and others on behalf of three plaintiffs who filed under pseudonyms.
Concerns about the registry are not new. In 2010, the Office of Children and Family Services settled a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of people who were listed in the state register and were not given hearings that could have removed their names.
The state committed to reducing the wait times in settling the suit, but the process became protracted after the settlement ended in 2014, according to the suit filed this week.
When a report of abuse or maltreatment is made to a child welfare agency, like the Administration for Children’s Services in New York City, an employee is mandated to investigate. If the worker finds a “fair preponderance of the evidence” that a person may have maltreated or abused a child, the person is “indicated” in the state’s system. Once indicated, the name is added to the registry.
When parents challenge their listing, they are successful in getting their cases amended or sealed 70 percent of the time, according to the suit. In 2021, 73 percent of parents and caretakers succeeded in appealing their listing, at least partially.
One of the plaintiffs in Thursday’s suit, who used the pseudonym Patrick Poe, said he only became aware that he was on the registry last year while going through a background check to be a medical caseworker.
A report was made against Mr. Poe, a single Latino father from Queens, in 2023, but he did not know. When he was “indicated” in November of that year, he was never contacted or interviewed as part of the investigation and was not notified when he was added to the registry.
His job offer has been on hold while he waits for a hearing in April to appeal his case and he has struggled to find work, Mr. Poe said in an interview. Following the hearing, he will again wait, this time for a determination.
Hurubie Meko is a Times reporter covering criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state courts.
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