Angela Burton, a finalist whose candidacy to lead the New York City Administration for Children’s Services drew attention for her self-description as a child protective services “abolitionist,” is no longer being considered for the post, she said on Friday.
Just days before, Michelle Burrell, the project director for Legal Services NYC’s Queens office and another top candidate for the position, removed herself from consideration, according to a person with knowledge of the process.
The Mamdani administration had signaled that it was open to making significant changes at the agency, and it was unclear on Friday what direction it would turn now that two of its top choices were out. The difficulties surrounding this appointment illustrate what a complicated role it is to fill.
City Hall officials would not comment on active personnel decisions, according to a spokeswoman.
The agency’s mission to protect children may seem straightforward, but there are multiple perspectives and points of view on how the city can best act in a child’s interest. If the organization is too aggressive, advocates say, it needlessly separates children from their families, punishing them when what they need is assistance. If the agency goes too far in the opposite direction, children can be left in harm’s way, facing abuse, or worse.
Ms. Burton is a longtime law professor and advocate for families who are affected by child protective services. In an interview, she said that A.C.S. is a “policing” agency, and should not be charged with administering social services. (For example the agency runs family resource centers, which offer parent support classes and help in applying for public benefits.) The agency is charged with responding to allegations of abuse or neglect, but families who need help, or are simply poor, are often thrust into that system, Ms. Burton said.
“As an abolitionist, my hope and aspiration is we will build environments and conditions so policing agencies, or family policing agencies, are not necessary,” she said. To the extent that they do exist, she continued, “they should be responding to and addressing issues of serious harm, or serious risk of harm to children, not generalized lack of resources and poverty-related situations.”
Ms. Burton was told by the Mamdani administration this week that she was no longer being considered for the position. Both she and Ms. Burrell had been told they were the two finalists.
Ms. Burrell removed herself from consideration last weekend, according to a person with knowledge of the process. Ms Burrell was a less contentious a choice than Ms. Burton, though in some of the public conversations about A.C.S. leadership, the views of the two women were conflated.
Both came from outside the government. Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, a former deputy mayor for Health and Human Services, said that the process tends to move more quickly when the candidates come from within the system, where their track records are well known. If an administration wants to bring in a reformer from outside, that can be more complicated, and requires careful vetting to be certain of philosophical alignment.
Not every candidate who is considered for the position is going to decide to take it, she added.
“Not everybody wants to take on that very tough, very difficult job,” she said.
Elizabeth A. Harris covers books and the publishing industry, reporting on industry news and examining the broader cultural impact of books. She is also an author.
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