Local Child and Protective Services agencies are now better informed when investigating reports of abuse and neglect. A new law requires the state to track repeat cases and notify local authorities.Carolyn Spring's great grandson, 5-year-old Eain Brooks, was killed last year by Matthew Kuzdzal, his mother's then-boyfriend. Kuzdzal was convicted of murder and sexual assault by a jury last Friday.
Spring says she and other people reported Eain's abuse to the state hotline, but local case workers were not informed.
"That was very frustrating. I actually thought that it did work the way they are making it work now. To know that it wasn't, it was like, why? We aren't back in the 19th century, it's 2014. We should have had this in place a long time ago," Spring said at a news conference Wednesday morning.
A state investigation of Erie County CPS was launched following last year's death of Eain Brooks and the 2012 murder of 10-year-old Abdi Mohamad. The state found 72-percent of existing child abuse reports involved families with a previous history of CPS investigations.
"This will save lives. This will definitely save lives of children," Spring said.
The CPS reform legislation, signed by Governor Cuomo Tuesday, was proposed by State Senator Timothy Kennedy.
