How Could You? Hall of Shame-Jacques Edwards UPDATED
This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.
From New York City, New York, “An ACS worker with a murder conviction 
on his record shoved a 6-year-old boy’s head into a file cabinet at a foster-care center in Manhattan, police said.
Jacques Edwards, 55, who works at the city-run Nicholas Scoppetta Children’s Center on First Ave. near E. 29th St. in Kips Bay, attacked the boy on Friday, authorities said.
Edwards pushed the boy up against a door and then shoved him into the file cabinet, said a complaint filed Monday night in Manhattan Criminal Court.
He was hired by the Administration for Children’s Services four years ago, sources said.
The incident was captured on video, the complaint says. The boy suffered an abrasion to his left temple, which was treated by a nurse.
Cops arrested Edwards Monday afternoon on felony assault and child endangerment charges.
Edwards was convicted of second-degree murder in Brooklyn slaying in 1981, when he was 18 years old, state records show.
He was sentenced to 15 years to life. Exactly how long he served could not be determined Monday night.
Edwards was ordered held on $15,000 bail.
In 2017, Edwards was employed by ACS as “juvenile counselor,” and earned $26,424, payroll records show.
“Our top priority is the safety and well-being of New York City’s children,”[Yeah, right!] said ACS spokeswoman Marisa Kaufman. “As soon as this employee’s actions came to our attention, we immediately removed him from duty and alerted law enforcement.”
ACS officials declined to comment further on the case, citing privacy laws.
The agency did not immediately respond to a follow-up question about Edwards’ background after it was learned by the Daily News.
The Nicholas Scoppetta Children’s Center is a temporary residence for children entering foster care.”
[NY Daily News 8/6/18 by John Annese]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update: “The city’s child-welfare department has for years failed to conduct required criminal background checks on prospective employees 
— such as the convicted murderer who is now charged with assaulting a child, state officials revealed Thursday.
“An analysis of background checks shows Administration for Children’s Services was out of compliance with the law requiring them to be run through the Justice Center from 2013 until at least 2017,” Christine Buttigieg, a spokeswoman for the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs, told The Post.
The dangers of letting even one employee slip through the cracks were laid bare last Friday, when ACS counselor and convicted killer Jacques Edwards, 55, allegedly slammed a 6-year-old boy into a filing cabinet.
A law instituted in 2013 requires ACS to ask the state Justice Center to check the criminal history of any job applicant “who will have regular and substantial unsupervised or unrestricted physical contact with children.”
But soon after the law took effect, ACS began ignoring it, according to reps from the Justice Center, who said the city only sporadically requested the legally required background checks since 2013.
ACS should have asked the state for a check on Edwards — who served three decades behind bars for murder and was paroled in 2010 — but failed to do so.
It is unclear how many others were ushered into service without required vetting.
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services “is currently conducting a thorough audit of personnel files and is prepared to take any action necessary to secure the safety of the children in the care of ACS and ensure ACS’ compliance with state law,” Buttigieg said.
ACS claims new Commissioner David Hansell fixed the issue while cleaning up the mess left behind when former commissioner Gladys Carrion resigned in disgrace in 2017.
“As part of Commissioner Hansell’s top-to-bottom reforms at ACS over the last year and a half, we have made substantial changes in the vetting process, which includes conducting background checks through the Justice Center, in addition to the checks conducted by [Department of Citywide Administrative Services],” ACS spokeswoman Marisa Kaufman said.
ACS is “conducting a full investigation” to understand what its own “hiring process was prior to” Hansell taking over, and is reviewing current staff’s backgrounds, she said.
DCAS did conduct a check on Edwards, according to ACS officials.
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday promised Edwards’ days working with kids are over.
“That individual will not be working ACS in the future and will go nowhere near children,” he said.
The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Edwards, who was charged Monday with assault, has admitted to tossing the tyke, but claims the 6-year-old was attacking him.
“He grabbed my arm, he tried to rip my scar off,” Edwards told The Post Thursday.”
ACS ignored background check law for years: officials
[NY Post 8/9/18 by Bruce Golding, Rich Calder and Max Jaeger]
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