ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A new report shows Monroe County is spending millions of dollars each year on unfounded calls to CPS. Community agencies in our area say those resources could be better spent elsewhere.
In 2024, Monroe County conducted nearly 7,000 CPS investigations. According to data released by Hope585 and The Children’s Agenda, almost all of those cases included claims alleging neglect. 76 percent of those cases, based on the report, were determined to be unfounded.
“Our county is wasting taxpayer dollars investigating families struggling with poverty instead of investigating directly into the root cause of poverty. Most calls are not on covering abuse or harm to children. They’re flagging poverty itself as a problem and using it as a basis to harm black, brown, and marginalized communities. The vast majority of reports allege neglect, not harm. Yet only 22 percent of those neglect claims are ever substantiated,” said Dr. Ashley Cross, executive director of Hope585…