Filed Date: Dec. 13, 1995
Closed Date: Aug. 6, 2018
Clearinghouse coding complete
This federal class action was brought by children in the custody of the New York City Child Welfare Administration ("CWA"), and children who, while not in the custody of CWA, are or will be at risk of abuse or neglect and whose status is known or should be known to CWA. It was filed on December 13, 1995 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs, represented by Children's Rights Inc., Lawyers for Children, and private counsel, sought class certification, declaratory and injunctive relief against both the city and the state (collectively, the defendants). The plaintiffs claimed that the defendants violated the First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment program of the Medicaid Act, the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and state law.
Specifically, the plaintiffs contend that the defendants systematically:
On June 18, 1996, District Judge Robert J. Ward certified a class of children in foster care and those reported to be abused or neglected. The court also denied the defendants' motion to dismiss, interpreting children's constitutional right to protection from harm to include harm that results from unnecessary separation from parents and from extended stays in foster care without a permanent family. Marisol A. v. Giuliani, 929 F. Supp. 662 (1996). Some procedural skirmishes dealing with the defendants' interlocutory appeal followed. On September 26, 1997, the Second Circuit affirmed the district court's certification of the plaintiff class and directed that the district judge divide the classes into subclasses for organizational and management purposes. Marisol A. v Giuliani, 126 F.3d 372 (2d Cir. 1997).
In July of 1998, the parties began settlement negotiations. Over the objections of would-be intervenors representing a subclass of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youths in the custody of the city agency, the court approved separate settlement agreements with the city and the state defendants in March 1999. Marisol A. v. Giuliani, 185 F.R.D. 152 (S.D.N.Y. 1999). Objectors appealed, but on July 10, 2000, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's approval of both the city and state settlement agreements. Joel A. v. Giuliani, 218 F.3d 132 (2d Cir. 2000).
The class action settlement required the city to use independent outside child welfare experts to guide and assist it in undertaking systemic reform. The advisory panel had complete access to all aspects of the city's child welfare agency, and was empowered to provide recommendations, issue progress reports on the status of the reform effort, and determine whether the city is acting in good faith in implementing systemic reform. The city settlement was successfully concluded in 2001.
The plaintiffs returned to court in January 2001, seeking an order directing compliance by the state with specific terms of the state settlement agreement. The areas of alleged noncompliance included the failure to implement a statewide child welfare management information system. After an August 2001 evidentiary hearing, the court granted the plaintiffs' motion in part, holding that the state had acted with insufficient diligence in implementing the information management system. Marisol A. ex re. Forbes v. Giuliani, 157 F. Supp. 2d 303 (S.D.N.Y. 2001). Judge Ward extended the term of the agreement in this area, and directed that the state file semi-annual reports with the plaintiffs until the Court determined that the state had fully complied with the relevant portions of the agreement.
Very little activity appears in the docket after that ruling. The state filed a report required by the settlement agreement in July 2008, and then there was nearly a 10-year gap. In 2017, the case was reassigned to Judge George Daniels and then Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker. Also, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (“OCFS”) filed one of its required semi-annual reports stating that OCFS was taking reasonable efforts to develop and implement a diligent and sufficient information management system for child welfare needs.
A status conference was held on July 26, 2018. After that conference, the court issued an order relinquishing its jurisdiction over that portion of the settlement agreement on August 6. Since the other parts of the settlement had terminated in 2001, the case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Alice Liu (5/19/2013)
Sean Whetstone (5/17/2018)
Alex Moody (4/12/2020)
Wilder v. Bernstein, Southern District of New York (1973)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7458316/parties/marisol-a-v-rudolph-giuliani/
Daniels, George B. (New York)
Duffy, Kevin Thomas (New York)
Eaton, Douglas F. (New York)
Feinberg, Wilfred (New York)
Leval, Pierre Nelson (New York)
Parker, Katherine H. (New York)
Walker, John Mercer Jr. (New York)
Ward, Robert Joseph (New York)
Best, Landis (New York)
Brodsky, David M. (New York)
Daniels, George B. (New York)
Duffy, Kevin Thomas (New York)
Eaton, Douglas F. (New York)
Feinberg, Wilfred (New York)
Leval, Pierre Nelson (New York)
Parker, Katherine H. (New York)
Walker, John Mercer Jr. (New York)
Ward, Robert Joseph (New York)
Best, Landis (New York)
Brodsky, David M. (New York)
Curnin, Thomas F. (New York)
Dembrow, Ira J. (New York)
Falcone, Marc (New York)
Firestein, Rose E. (New York)
Freedman, Karen J. (New York)
Kimura, Rebecca Kim (New York)
Kirklin, John E. (New York)
Lambiase, Susan (New York)
Leffell, Daniel J. (New York)
Lerner, Gayle (New York)
Levine, Craig (New York)
Lowry, Marcia Robinson (New York)
Marcus, Carol A. (New York)
Murdock, Kim E. (New York)
Nothenberg, Shirim (New York)
Park, Anne Y. (New York)
Peters, Mark G. (New York)
Powell, Jeffrey K. (New York)
Shull, Robert (New York)
Stone, Martha (New York)
Vash, Serina (New York)
Velona, Jess A. (New York)
Bansal, Preeta D. (New York)
Belohlavek, Michael S. (New York)
Billet, Barbara G. (New York)
Bristow, William (New York)
Caputo, Francis F. (New York)
Connolly, Steven M. (New York)
Crotty, Paul Austin (New York)
Forte, Robert E. (New York)
Goldstein, Stephanie Freeman (New York)
Goodman, Grace (New York)
Hess, Michael D. (New York)
Hughes, Thomas D. (New York)
Kramer, Judith T. (New York)
Popkin, Michael S. (New York)
Rubin, Gail (New York)
Seidman, Phyllis (New York)
Sonnenshein, Larry A. (New York)
Spitzer, Eliot (New York)
Vacco, Dennis C. (New York)
Woods, John (New York)
Younkins, Ronald (New York)
Abrams, Floyd (New York)
Buchalter, Samantha Leigh (New York)
Cook, Victoria (New York)
Davis, Richard J. (New York)
Goldberg, Janet L. (New York)
Lasdon, Douglas (New York)
Pumo, David (New York)
Sherman, Jonathan (New York)
Wang, Mariann Meier (New York)
Wolff, Tobias B. (New York)
Yale, Harris J. (New York)
Drinane, Monica (New York)
Greenberg, Daniel L. (New York)
McNally, Kay G. (New York)
Rosenbloom, Nancy (New York)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7458316/marisol-a-v-rudolph-giuliani/
Last updated May 19, 2022, 7:06 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: New York
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Dec. 13, 1995
Closing Date: Aug. 6, 2018
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
All children who are in the custody of the New York City Child Welfare Administration ("CWA"), and those children who, while not in the custody of CWA, are at risk of neglect or abuse and whose status is known or should be known to CWA.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Mayor of the City of New York, City
Governor of the State of New York, State
New York City Administration of Children’s Services, City
New York State Office of Children and Family Services, State
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111 et seq.
Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (AACWA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 620 et seq.
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5101 et seq.
Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act), 29 U.S.C. § 701
Constitutional Clause(s):
Availably Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Order Duration: 1998 - 2018
Content of Injunction:
Issues
General:
Foster care (benefits, training)
Incident/accident reporting & investigations
Public benefits (includes, e.g., in-state tuition, govt. jobs)
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Crowding:
Discrimination-basis:
Disability (inc. reasonable accommodations)
Affected Gender:
Disability:
Medical/Mental Health:
Benefit Source: