Series II. Child Welfare, 1988-2014 (bulk, 1988-2008)
Extent
Scope and Contents
This series contains items dating from before, during, and after Scoppetta's tenure as first Commissioner of the Administration for Children's Services (ACS), a position he held between 1996 and 2001. Also present are materials from New Yorkers for Children, the non-profit partner of ACS Scoppetta founded, along with some from the Children's Aid Society, where he was board president between 1987 and 1993.
Arrangement
Series II is divided into three subseries, each arranged chronologically:
Subseries II.A. Child Welfare: General, 1988-2014.
Subseries II.B. Child Welfare: Printed Material, 1982-2012.
Subseries II.C. Child Welfare: Audiovisual, 1996-2002.
Subseries II.A. Child Welfare: General, 1988-2014
Scope and Contents
Early in his career Scoppetta worked for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (the same agency that placed him in foster care at the age of five), but this subseries does not extend that far back. Instead it picks up a few years before his 1996 appointment as first commissioner of the newly-created Administration for Children's Services (ACS), carries through until his departure at on 31 December 2001, and continues until shortly before his death.
Arrangement
The material is arranged chronologically, with general items preceding the contents of specialized accordion files Scoppetta labeled "Child Welfare & ACS" (Box 5, Folders 7-12); "Reference Child Welfare" (Box 5, Folders 13-15); "Child Welfare / Important Reference" (Box 6, Folders 1-3); and "Child Fatality" (Box 6, Folders 4-8). The final folder in this subseries (Box 6, Folder 12) contains restricted material on the Elisa Izquierdo murder case (see the container list for details).
[Child Welfare: General], 1989-1990
[Child Welfare: General], 1991
[Child Welfare: General], 1993-1994
[Child Welfare: General] (2 folders), 1995
[Child Welfare: General] (3 folders), 1996
Scope and Contents Note
Folder 6 includes letters from Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, Chief Judge of the State of New York Judith Kaye, Queens County District Attorney Richard A. Brown, and Congress Member for New York's 14th District Carolyn B. Maloney, congratulating Scoppetta on his appointment as first commissioner of the Administration for Children's Services.
[Child Welfare: General] (3 folders), 1997
[Child Welfare: General] (2 folders), 1998
[Child Welfare: General] (2 folders), 1999
[Child Welfare: General] (2 folders), 2000
Scope and Contents Note
Folder 16 includes a program from the ribbon cutting ceremony (16 November 2000) for the ACS Children's Center at 492 First Avenue, Manhattan, and architectural specifications for the building, which was renamed the Nicholas Scoppetta Children's Center in 2013.
[Child Welfare: General] (3 folders), 2001
Scope and Contents Note
Folder 3 holds contents from a binder, "Scan of Innovative Programs Supporting Children Without Guardianship, Presented to the Broad Foundation," 28 September 2001.
[Child Welfare: Wald Course] (4 folders), 2001
Scope and Contents Note
Course material for "Child Abuse and Neglect, Law 585," taught by Professor Michael Wald at Stanford Law School, Spring 2001.
[Child Welfare: General], 2002-2003
[Child Welfare: General], 2003-2004
[Child Welfare: General], 2005
[Child Welfare: General], 2006-2007
[Child Welfare: General], 2007
[Child Welfare: General], 2008-2010
[Child Welfare: New Yorkers for Children], 2009-2014
Separated Materials Note
Material relating to New Yorkers for Children, the nonprofit partner of ACS Scoppetta founded in 1996.
[Child Welfare: General] (3 folders), 2011-2013
Scope and Contents Note
Includes material on the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute Honoree-Benefit, May 2012 (Folder 2).
[Child Welfare: General, undated] (3 folders), n.d.
Child Welfare & ACS (6 folders), 1996-2005
Scope and Contents Note
From an accordion file Scoppetta labeled "Child Welfare & ACS."
Child Welfare: Reference (3 folders), 1988-2001
Scope and Contents Note
From an accordion file Scoppetta labeled "Reference Child Welfare."
Child Welfare: Important Reference (3 folders), 2001-2007
Scope and Contents Note
From an accordion file Scoppetta labeled "Child Welfare / Important Reference."
Child Welfare: Child Fatality (5 folders), 1989-2000
Scope and Contents Note
With a sheet (in Folder 4) itemizing the contents of Folders 4-8:
I. ACS' Annual Reports (1989-1999) [NOTE: Only 1989-1995 present; Folders 6-8]
II. Fatality Statistics (Internal Excel Spreadsheets for cases in calendar years 1998-2000) [Folder 4]
III. Miscellaneous Newspaper Articles on Studies on Child Fatalities [Folders 4-5]
[Child Welfare: Marisol case] (2 folders), circa 1995-2011
Scope and Contents Note
Material relating to the lawsuit known as Marisol v. Giuliani, named for the girl (born 1990) around whom it centered. Her physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her mother and mother's boyfriend led to the reformation of New York City's flawed Child Welfare System.
[Child Welfare: Elisa Izquierdo case], 1995-1997
Scope and Contents Note
A memorandum and two copies of Scoppetta's statement, as Commissioner of the Administration for Children's Services (ACS), on the death of Elisa Izquierdo (1989-1995). Elisa was beaten to death by her mother in one of the most horrific instances of child abuse of the day. The case spurred Rudy Giuliani to replace New York's ineffective Child Welfare System with the ACS and to appoint Scoppetta its first commissioner.
[Child Welfare: Elisa Izquierdo case] RESTRICTED until 2070, 1996
Access Restrictions
Contains a confidential draft report of the New York City Child Fatality Review Panel (3 January 1996) and two copies of a memorandum regarding the same (9 February 1996), which, because they name caseworkers and Elisa Izquierdo's siblings, are RESTRICTED until 2070.
Subseries II.B. Child Welfare: Printed Material, 1982-2012
Scope and Contents
Printed matter on the subject of child welfare, mostly reports generated by the Association for Children's Services.
Arrangement
The material is filed chronologically by date of publication.
New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, In the Matter of the Adoption of Male Infant Landaverde . . ., 1982
Protecting the Children of New York: A Plan of Action for the Administration for Children's Services, 1996 December 19
New York City Administration for Children's Services, Outcome & Performance Indicators, Status Report I, 1998 June
Protecting the Children of New York: A Plan of Action for the Administration for Children's Services, second printing (2 copies), 1998 October
The City of New York Administration for Children's Services, Accountability Review Panel Report 1996 and 1997, 1998 December
The City of New York Administration for Children's Services, Accountability Review Panel Report 1998, 1998
The City of New York Administration for Children's Services, Accountability Review Panel Report 1999, 1999
NYC Administration for Children's Services, Division of Child Protection, Child Protective Services, Quality Improvement Management Plan and Outcomes, 1996-1999
The Administration for Children's Services, Division of Child Protection Child Protective Services Casework Practice Guide, first edition, 1999 June 7
NYC Administration for Children's Services, Reform Plan Indicators Status Report 2, 2000 March
NYC Administration for Children's Services, Realizing Reform: The Future of Children's Services in NYC [summary of conference proceedings], 2001 March 26-27
NYC Administration for Children's Services, Five Years of Reform in Children's Services, 1996-2001 Reform Update, 2001 March
NYC Administration for Children's Services, A Renewed Plan of Action for the Administration for Children's Services, 2001 July
NYC Administration for Children's Services, Transition Briefing Document, 2001 October 15
Scope and Contents Note
Has Scoppetta's annotations and loose, inserted notes.
NYC Administration for Children's Services, New York City's Child Welfare System: Status of Reform, New Yorkers for Children Annual Board Meeting, 2003 January 8
The Administration for Children's Services Strategic Plan Update, 2012 September
Administration for Children's Services (2 copies), n.d.
Subseries II.C. Child Welfare: Audiovisual, 1996-2002
Scope and Contents
A large number of audiocassettes, VHS tapes, and two CDs/DVDs on the theme of child welfare. Most of the audiocassettes appear to be recordings of site visits Scoppetta made as Commissioner of the Administration for Children's Services. The VHS tapes are both professionally produced and recordings made by Scoppetta and/or ACS staff of television appearances, conference proceedings, etc.
NOTE: The New-York Historical Society lacks audiovisual playback equipment.
Arrangement
This material is arranged first by format—audiocassette, CD/DVD, or VHS—and then chronologically, except for the first five VHS tapes (episodes of the "Great Depression" documentary), which, for reasons of space, are housed in Box 9. All other VHS tapes are in box 10.