I have a concern about the New York State Department of Social Services. My step daughter and twp step sons were seen by a Manhattan DSS worker who told my mother in law that she will recommend that the children be removed from their fathers home. The step daughter had head lice for going on three months and did not take her to the doctor or even do treatment for her. It took the grandmother to take her to the hospital and they didn't evn report it. The grandmother had to report this. The manhattan DSS worker told the grnadmother that since the children did not reside in their county she would have to transfer the case to the county where the children reside. She did this and it took the county that the children reside in over 40 days to investigate what the other DSS worker recommended. The county where the children reside in told the children's mother that there was no sign of abuse and the children didn't say anything that they had said before. I have a problem with this issue, due to them taking over 40 days to do the inestigation in speaking with the children, the father and girlfriend that he lives with had time to confuse and or brain wash these kids. Maybe even threaten them if they talked. My wife continues to call this county DSS with even a tape recorded message where their father is beating on his ex girlfriend in the back ground and you can hear or say stop hitting me and him calling her names. And all of this took place in front of the children. The count DSS will do nothing. They will not listen to the tape even. What can I do or who could I contact at the state level who would do something about the situation. Is there any media agencies out there that would be willing to break a story of this nature and if so then who? Thank you.

Andrew,
I work as a DSS Investigator in KY. I can tell you that in KY the time frame you describe is way out of compliance. At most we have 48 hours to initiate a case. If it is physical or sexual abuse we only have 1 hour. As for the 40 days, if another county initiates a referral for us within time frames we have around 45 days to finish the investigation.
Head lice in itself is not a reason to remove children in KY. Rather than take the children to the hospital. Why did the grandmother not just treat the children for lice? It appears that this is a custody issue rather than safety maybe there is more to the scenario. If you give me more info I can better answer.

There is a lot more about this situation. The children told the Manhattan DSS worker that their father hits them and chokes them for some of the following reasons: one of his sons looks like his mother (this is what the youngest boy told the DSS), if his daughter calls me dad she gets hit, if they say certain things to their mother on the phone they get threatened and possibly hit. I know that they also say that they have been choked by him as well. He has not taken the two boys to the doctor in over two years, they are 8 and 9. He did not take none of them to the doctor for the head lice nor did he treat it. He shaved the boys heads and that was it. My wife has numerous tape recordings of her ex husband and his girlfriend in the background saying negative things such as calling my wife a *****, telling my wife's daughter that she is not her mom but the girlfriend is, on the tapes are some things that the kids say their father, his girlfriend, and others have done to them, such as hit, choke, not feed, etc... My wife has asked the DSS to listen to the tapes as well as the courts and they refuse to. But, they prove what the kids are saying. My step daughter had head lice for over two months where the father did not do anything to rid it of her. If that's not neglect, then I am way off. That shows that he is not properly caring for them.

Okay as a general rule evidence produced on tape by either party in a case is suspect because it is an extreme form of hearsay. I realize that you are trying to help by recording things, but in most cases it appears vindictive.
Here in KY it is possible to go before the judge and take out an Emergency Protective Order (restraining order) on behalf of the children. Your wife can ask for custody of the children due to the things they disclosed the social worker. Choking and hitting in the face is an serious problem. Chronic head lice is also a major issue, here if you shave the kids head rather than treat the condition it is definitely neglect.
New York policy states maltreatment refers to the quality of care a child is receiving from those responsible for him/her. Maltreatment occurs when a parent or other person legally responsible for the care of a child harms a child, or places a child in imminent danger of harm by failing to exercise the minimum degree of care in providing the child with any of the following: food, clothing, shelter, education or medical care when financially able to do so. Maltreatment can also result from abandonment of a child or from not providing adequate supervision for the child. Further, a child may be maltreated if a parent engages in excessive use of drugs or alcohol such that it interferes with their ability to adequately supervise the child
Don't focus so much on the tape issues but focus your attention on hiring an attorney getting into family court. Ask to speak to the social workers supervisor and explain your concerns. If you still don't feel confident I am sure there is an OMSBUDMANS office which deal with complaints. Get in touch with them.

Might I also suggest having a third party investigate like a private detective? I don't know how that would look in court, but he might also be able to get evidence of this behavior that might otherwise be thought of as vindictive if you or your wife do it. The investigater does not have an opinion either way, and most p.I. are retired police officers and know the laws better than we do in this type of situation. Hope this helps.

Also, for your own protection:
N.Y. Penal Law §§ 250.00, 250.05: It is a Class E felony to overhear or record a telephonic or telegraphic communication if one is not the sender or receiver, or does not have the consent of either the sender or receiver. It also is a crime for someone not present to overhear or record any conversation or discussion without the consent of at least one party to that conversation.

Cordless telephone conversations that are partially broadcast over ordinary radio waves are protected by the wiretapping and eavesdropping laws and require the same consent for recording as any other communication. New York v. Fata, 559 N.Y.S.2d 348 (N.Y. App. Div. 1990).

State courts have held that newspapers that published transcripts of an illegally recorded telephone conversation were subject to civil liability when "the newspapers knew they were dealing with recorded conversations between unconsenting parties." Natoli v. Sullivan, 606 N.Y.S.2d 504 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Oswego County 1993), aff'd, 616 N.Y.S.2d 318 (N.Y. App. Div. 1994).

The question is often asked by clients if they can record the telephone conversations of their spouse in a domestic case or the conversations of their children concerning drug usage. In both of these cases, the answer is it's unlawful.

Taken from http://www.pimall.com/nais/n.recordlaw.html