Child Welfare advocates say the death of four children under the watch of the Administration for Children?s Services (ACS) is now causing a ?foster care panic."

Some advocates are afraid New Yorkers are overreacting and that children who live in good, but poor homes are being taken into foster care unnecessarily. They say that many child-protection workers are now afraid of being blamed for another tragedy, so they are more likely to recommend removing children from their homes.

An ACS representative says that although the number of reports of abuse and the number of children placed in foster care are up, this is not a case of overreacting. The agency theys workers make decisions about each and every child individually.