Meredith Trainor’s daughter was 11 months old when caseworkers from New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services took her from Trainor’s arms without a court order, according to a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York this week.
Trainor argues her daughter’s removal — which led to a five-day separation and monthslong Family Court case — was unlawful. Her lawsuit accuses the city of violating her and her daughter’s constitutional rights.
Emergency removals, which happen without a court order, are meant to be a last resort when caseworkers fear a child faces imminent danger. But city data shows these types of removals occur on a regular basis — accounting for about half of abuse and neglect removals each year. Trainor’s daughter was one of the more than 1,300 children ACS separates from their parents without a court order each year, according to the agency’s data…