Potential Child Welfare Leader Raises Concerns

Mayor Zoran Mamdani is contemplating appointing a controversial activist, Angela Barton, to oversee the city’s child welfare agency, as reported by the Post.

Currently, Barton is nearing the end of her interview process for the role leading the Department of Child Welfare, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Like other child protective services in the area, the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) investigates allegations of abuse and manages the foster care system in the city.

At 65, Barton is known for her radical views. She’s involved with the nonprofit Children’s Rights New York Mandatory Reporting Task Force, which aims to “narrow down” laws around mandatory reporting and minimize what they see as intrusive investigations statewide.

“For too long, these mandatory reporting laws have led to excessive surveillance and family separations, particularly impacting Black, Latinx, and under-resourced families,” the organization states on its site.

Barton has been vocal in her criticism of the state’s child protective services, labeling their interventions as racist. On social media, she has asserted that CPS operates as a “slow, exploitative genocide against Black Americans.” She has previously referred to agencies like ACS as equivalent to “child slavery.”

Additionally, she has demanded the abolishment of what she terms the “Foster Parent Industrial Complex” and called CPS workers a “serious and imminent threat.”

In her social media posts, she has alleged that CPS’s activities traumatize more than a third of all children, particularly harming over half of Black children, emphasizing a substantial threat to families.

Critics have expressed serious concerns regarding Barton’s extreme perspectives, particularly about the potential risks posed to vulnerable children in urban areas.

Rafael Mangaal, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, commented on the matter. He indicated that, based on Barton’s prior statements, her agenda could lean toward undermining the agency’s ability to remove children from harmful environments.

Mangaal stated, “I believe that individuals like Angela Barton will promote radical approaches that leave children vulnerable.” He added ominously, “Children will always die.”

A source mentioned that Barton has expressed confidence to her allies about being suitable for the position, claiming that growing rumors about her appointment are causing real fear in the community.

Barton has past experience as a special prosecutor focused on interdisciplinary matters within the New York State Administrative Office of Courts, where she dealt with child welfare and youth justice initiatives. She previously alleged she was let go for wanting to bring attention to an investigation into abuse allegations.

ACS has directed inquiries to City Hall, while neither the mayor’s office nor Barton has provided comments on the situation. A spokesperson from the state court did not immediately respond to requests for more information.