Opinion: Justice for All in New York

When Gov. Andrew Cuomo took office in 2011, he inherited a human services system riddled with problems. The people the state was charged with looking after — individuals with developmental disabilities, special needs and other vulnerabilities — were far too often facing abuse and mistreatment at the hands of the very workers who were responsible for their well-being. New York, which in the past had led the nation in its quality of care for this community, was clearly not living up to its responsibility to protect the vulnerable people in its care.
New York is hardly alone in wrestling with the problems of abuse and neglect in its human service systems. States all across the country are experiencing similar problems, and most are responding, if at all, with limited and specific fixes.