PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Everson Ladson, Foster Parent
2:15:59
ยท
3 min
Everson Ladson, a foster parent, testifies about alleged discrimination and retaliation by ACS and a contracted agency against LGBTQ foster parents. He describes a pattern of unfounded allegations made against him and his husband after they advocated for their foster children, ultimately resulting in the children's removal from their home.
- Ladson claims ACS is sending a message that foster families will be punished for advocating for their children
- He alleges that a contracted agency exhibited homophobic behavior, which was endorsed by ACS leadership
- The testimony highlights the trauma experienced by the foster children, who were moved to six different homes in four months
- Ladson calls for the committee to hold ACS leadership accountable for harming children in their care
Everson Ladson
2:15:59
My name is Everson Latson.
2:16:01
I'm Fernando's husband.
2:16:02
I want to talk about a chilling message that ACS is sending to foster families as well as their contracted agencies.
2:16:10
They're telling foster families in New York City, advocate for your child and you'll be punished.
2:16:15
In our case, the pattern could not have been more clear.
2:16:18
When we told the legal advocate and the court about their contractors' refusal to provide services and violations of court orders, allegations were made three hours later.
2:16:29
When those were dismissed, the agency resubmitted them.
2:16:33
When we reported strange men coming and going at visits and an injury that our foster child sustained at a supervised visit, allegations were made days later.
2:16:43
In fact, our foster children's advocate successfully removed the case worker from their case because she was putting the children in danger.
2:16:52
When we when ACO saw in our lawyer's in the children's lawyer's petition that we were among her sources, they removed the children without warning three days later.
2:17:03
Now that sudden removal was after two and a half years of attachment between the children and us.
2:17:09
Like the others, all of these allegations were investigated and unfounded.
2:17:13
In fact, we remain in the 98% of foster parents that Commissioner Dan Houser mentioned with no founded allegations.
2:17:20
When the agency learned that we won the appeal, they refused to return the children to our home and instead submitted the same allegations for a second time within twenty four hours.
2:17:31
Those two were investigated and unfounded.
2:17:34
But this time, ACS's leadership went with their contractor and against their own investigators.
2:17:41
Despite the allegations being cleared, they declined to return the children to the home that they had known for two and a half years, specifically citing a report that the contractor put together claiming that the children were inappropriately exposed to sexual content because they had seen my husband and I kiss one another on the lips.
2:18:00
ACS has been ACS has been aware of this particular agency's homophobia for years.
2:18:06
We and other LGBTQ foster families that have reached out to us have reported it to them in the past, and they have done nothing.
2:18:14
But we were shocked when ACS's leadership and commissioner Danhauser actively endorsed it.
2:18:19
Two weeks ago, New York one exposed the injustice and most importantly, the trauma that it has affected on these two children.
2:18:27
Hours later, ACS moved the children again to their sixth home in four months.
2:18:33
The next day, ACS called us informing us that they were opening another investigation into our home more than one hundred days after removing the children after two previous allegations were invested and cleared by them and the NYPD and right after hearing that the press was coming out.
2:18:51
It's shameless.
2:18:53
In closing, I ask you to imagine what does it do to a small child to have six sets of parents in four months?
2:19:01
What does it do to a six year old and to a three year old?
2:19:05
I hope this committee will hold ACS leadership accountable because they are not just failing these children, they are actively harming them.