Squad 2

Squad 2 oversees City agencies that provide critical social services to New Yorkers: the City Department of Social Services, which includes the Human Resources Administration (HRA), and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). Squad 2 also oversees the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), which includes the Division of Youth and Family Justice (DYFJ). The Squad ensures that these agencies fulfill their collective mandate to assist the City’s most vulnerable New Yorkers, including through complex criminal investigations into corruption, financial fraud, and mismanagement, as in the investigation culminating in the federal indictment of five HRA contractors for stealing more than 4,000 HRA rent subsidy checks worth over $2.7 million. Squad 2 also proactively identifies weaknesses and operational failings in the social services agencies' processes and procedures, recommends reforms to fix and prevent weakenesses from recurring, and works with the agencies to address those weaknesses. For instance, Squad 2's report on HRA's Special One-Time Assistance Program (SOTA) identified numerous procedural flaws that led to homeless clients being placed in unsafe housing outside of New York City.

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Squad 2 Reports

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• A Report on the New York City Human Resources Administration's Special One-Time Assistance Program's Placements Outside of New York City

• A Report on Financial Fraud in the Emergency Benefits Check Disbursement Program at the New York City Human Resources Administration

• Review of ACS' Systemic Safety Accountability Mechanisms for Foster Care Providers

• Illicit Activities at Hotels Used by the Department of Homeless Services to Shelter Homeless Families with Children

• Corruption in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program at the Human Resources Administration

• Investigation into ACS's Response to Child Abuse and Neglect Allegations Involving Jaden Jordan

• ACS Policy and Practice Violations Identified in Three Child Welfare Cases

• Inadequate Oversight by the Administration for Children's Services

• Employee Fraud and Program Vulnerabilities at the New York City Human Resources Administration

• Probe of Department of Homeless Services' Shelters for Families with Children Finds Serious Deficiencies