The NYC ACS Commissioner is Rebecca Jones Gaston, appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani in early 2026 to run the Administration for Children’s Services, the city agency that investigates child abuse reports, places children in foster care, and operates juvenile detention across the five boroughs.1NYC Administration for Children’s Services. Administration for Children’s Services – About The job controls a budget above $2.8 billion and carries authority that can reshape a family’s life in a matter of days.
Who Rebecca Jones Gaston Is
Jones Gaston took over after Jess Dannhauser submitted his resignation to Mayor Mamdani in January 2026. Dannhauser had held the role since early 2022 under former Mayor Eric Adams, and his departure was part of the broader leadership turnover when Mamdani took office on January 1, 2026.
Her background is in public child welfare at every level. She most recently served as Commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families under President Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services. Before that she was child welfare director for Oregon’s Department of Human Services and executive director of Maryland’s Social Services Administration, where she cut out-of-state foster placements by 75 percent in under four years. She is a social worker by training and has spoken publicly about being placed in foster care at birth before being adopted.
The Mayor of New York City holds exclusive authority to appoint and remove the Commissioner. NYC Charter Section 6 lets the mayor appoint the heads of all administrations and departments and remove them at will, with no City Council confirmation required.2American Legal Publishing. New York City Charter – Section 6 Heads of Departments; Appoint; Remove The Commissioner reports to a Deputy Mayor, typically within the health and human services chain of command.
What the Commissioner Can Do
Chapter 24-B of the NYC Charter, specifically Section 617, gives the Commissioner the legal authority of a commissioner of social services for every matter touching child welfare in the city.3American Legal Publishing. New York City Charter – Section 617 Powers and Duties The core powers include:
- Receiving and investigating reports of child abuse and maltreatment.
- Providing preventive services aimed at keeping children out of foster care and reunifying families after placement.
- Arranging foster care for children in the Commissioner’s custody or guardianship.
- Managing daycare, Head Start, and other child care programs.
- Enforcing child support obligations against legally responsible parents.
Where any other city agency’s work touches child welfare, child development, or child support enforcement, the Charter assigns that work to ACS unless state or federal law says otherwise. The agency carries out much of this work through contracts with private foster care and preventive service providers. ACS also runs the city’s juvenile detention and placement system through its Division of Youth and Family Justice, including secure and non-secure detention for young people awaiting court proceedings and community-based alternatives for youth the Family Court would otherwise place.
The Deadlines That Bind the Agency
Once the New York Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment forwards a report to ACS, state law puts the agency on a clock.4New York State Senate. New York Social Services Code 422 – Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment An investigation must begin within 24 hours of receipt, including face-to-face or telephone contact with the people named in the report. A preliminary safety assessment is due within seven days.
From there, investigators have 60 days to either “indicate” the report, meaning they found credible evidence of abuse or maltreatment, or “unfound” it. Supervisors are expected to review the determination by day 50 so corrections can still be made. An indicated report lands on the statewide central register and can follow a parent into employment screenings, custody fights, and any future contact with child welfare agencies.
If a child enters foster care, a federal deadline kicks in. Under the Adoption and Safe Families Act, when a child has been in foster care for 15 of the most recent 22 months, the agency must file a petition to terminate parental rights and start identifying an adoptive family.5Congress.gov. Public Law 105-89 Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 Three narrow exceptions apply: the child is placed with a relative, the agency documents a compelling reason in the case plan that termination would not serve the child’s best interests, or the agency has not yet delivered the reunification services the case plan called for. Parents working toward reunification should know this clock from day one.
Youth already in the system have their own protections. Federal law requires foster youth 14 and older to receive a written document covering their rights to education, health care, visitation, court participation, safety, and vital documents, and to sign an acknowledgment that the contents were explained in an age-appropriate way.6Congress.gov. Public Law 113-183 Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act
Your Rights When ACS Is at Your Door
Parents hold a constitutionally protected liberty interest in the care and custody of their children under the Fourteenth Amendment. Before ACS removes a child from a home, due process generally requires notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. Emergency removals are allowed when a child faces imminent danger, but a court hearing must follow promptly.
Families who believe ACS violated their constitutional rights can sue under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which gives any person deprived of constitutional rights by someone acting under color of state law a federal cause of action for damages.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1983 – Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights Individual caseworkers and supervisors often invoke qualified immunity, a court-created doctrine that shields government officials unless they violated a “clearly established” constitutional right any reasonable person would have recognized.8Congressional Research Service. Policing the Police: Qualified Immunity and Considerations for Congress That bar is high enough that many claims never survive a motion to dismiss, and the ones that proceed usually involve egregious conduct such as fabricating evidence, coercing confessions, or removing children without any factual basis.
One pattern is worth knowing. Courts have found that due process violations can happen without any physical force. If a caseworker threatens to place a child in foster care to pressure a parent into “voluntarily” leaving the home or signing a safety plan, that coercion itself can trigger constitutional protections. If you feel pressured during an ACS visit, you have the right to ask for an attorney before agreeing to anything.
How to Reach ACS Leadership
The most direct route for families and advocates is the Sabra Jackson Office of Advocacy, which handles complaints about specific cases and broader policy concerns and can escalate issues up to agency leadership.9Administration for Children’s Services. Administration for Children’s Services – Advocacy
- In person: 110 William Street, 1st Floor, New York, NY 10038, Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
- Phone: 212-676-9421.
- Incarcerated parents: call collect at 212-619-1309.
- TTY: dial 711 and ask the relay operator to connect to 212-676-9421.
Written messages can also be submitted through the ACS website’s online contact form. For formal complaints or case reviews, putting concerns in writing creates a record you can rely on if the matter later moves to a fair hearing or court proceeding.