Exclusive | NYC child care abuse cases soar in troubling trend as Mamdani rolls out tot-slot expansion

Credible child abuse cases at Big Apple-regulated daycares have skyrocketed as Mayor Zohran Mamdani ramps up expansion of tot care slots — but no one knows why, new statistics show.There were 564 reported cases of child abuse during the last fiscal year, a bone-chilling 24.4% of which were found to be substantiated, according to statistics provided in the annual Mayor’s Management Report released in September.That’s nearly double the 13.1% deemed credible during the 2024 fiscal year — which also had 7% fewer reported cases of neglect and abuse, the Administration for Children’s Services reported.Even more concerning is that the ACS is not sure what is causing the surge.“ACS is working with child protection leadership to understand factors that may be leading to a higher indication rate in investigations of alleged abuse and/or neglect that occur in child care programs,” the agency said.Councilman Frank Morano, who sits on the governmental operations committee, suggested the council hold a hearing “right away and work to get some answers” on the documented increase in child abuse.“The child-care numbers are especially hard to ignore.

Reports went up 7%, but the share that were actually substantiated nearly doubled,” said Morano (R-Staten Island).“That tells me this isn’t just a story about more people making reports.ACS itself says it is trying to figure out why the substantiation rate jumped so dramatically.

Parents deserve that answer quickly.”The MMR covers the last six months of former Mayor Eric Adams’s term and the first six months of Mamdani’s tenure, which began this year.The data follows several disturbing accounts of sexual abuse that have been made public — including the February arrest of a pervy Brooklyn day care teacher who investigators said molested four girls over the course of nearly two years.Devonte Brown, 30, is accused of intimately touching the kids – two 5-year-olds and a 6- and 9-year-old – he was entr...