In trying to understand why so many school-based reports of child neglect prove unfounded, a consensus is growing that part of the problem is a sad but simple truth: A lack of resources can easily be mistaken for neglect. In New York City, where three-quarters of the student population is living below the poverty line, a disproportionate number of children show up to school hungry or in clothes that could suggest they’re not being properly cared for. To reverse that trend, the Administration for Children’s Services is launching prevention programs in dozens of public schools, as part of a broader effort to avoid unnecessary calls to New York’s child abuse hotline. “It’s universal that parenting is stressful,” Commissioner New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) Commissioner Jess Dannhauser (Caroline Rubinstein-Willis/Mayoral Photography Office) said in an interview with the Daily News. “But if you’re parenting and struggling to make ends meet … to have that support is really stabilizing.” This school year, ACS has allocated $22 million across 16 contracts with providers for early services, according to plans shared with The News. Each local group partners with at least three elementary and middle schools to offer help with material help, including food and clothes; parent support groups; and case management. The organizations try to fill in gaps that, when left unaddressed, could prompt an otherwise avoidable hotline call. “The goal of school-based early support is to provide early support to prevent the need for parents to feel like they’re being told they’re ‘bad’ parents,” said Renee Avery at SCAN Harbor, one of the providers in the Bronx, “but to say we’re here, and we’re here with your children, and we’re here for you, and let’s talk about how we can help you.” SCAN Harbor’s program, which will operate in four schools in District 9, provides funding for “what we’ve been doing all of the time, but out of our own private budget,” Avery said. “We found that many youngsters who are truant … maybe the child doesn’t have a winter coat, and the school may suspect it, but didn’t know it for sure. Well, we will be handling that.” Teachers and school staff are required by law to call in any suspected cases of child abuse to the hotline. Last school year, the education sector made 18% of the 60,630 reports to the state central registry. The concept seemed straightforward: To task children-facing city workers with keeping them safe. But data suggests many of those reports may be frivolous and not without consequences. After an investigation, just 14% of allegations by teachers and school staff last year indicated a child was mistreated, compared to 23% of all reports citywide, according to ACS data. The probes can also take time and resources away from more worrisome cases, involving children who are imminently in danger. The school-based early support programs respond to a growing recognition that child welfare probe can be more than just a check-in on a family, but a significant intrusion — involving home visits, interviews with neighbors and employers, and checks for bruises. “We know an investigation is stressful for a family,” Dannhauser said. “If we can meet that need without an investigation, without that stress, we have to take every opportunity to do that.” “We’re implementing a model that has a lot of flexibility in it, and so, some families might need some basic needs to be met, and they don’t need to have a long-term engagement. Others might need a fuller, deeper engagement. We can provide that,” he added. ACS expects to reach approximately 1,280 families each year through referrals or parents seeking help on their own. The selected schools span 23 of the city’s 32 geographic school districts. Nine of the districts are in Brooklyn; six are in the Bronx. Depending on the program, providers are planning to spend up to $37,000 on food, clothes and diapers, school supplies and other concrete support, as well as help with transportation and benefits enrollment. Each organization — including CAMBA, Coalition for Hispanic Family Services and The Child Center of NY — must also incorporate four school-based “offerings,” which range from school outreach efforts to cultural events. Families do not need to have an open prevention case with ACS to access many of the services. But for a share of the program slots, providers maintain case records and program data in state and ACS systems. Advocates welcomed ACS addressing over-reporting in public schools and the focus on helping families. But they warned against any unintended negative consequences of expanding — rather than narrowing — the system’s front door. “ACS has a reputation as being the agency that can take your kids away from you,” said Nora McCarthy, director of New York City Family Policy Project. “It’s the right idea to expand support options for families, but having a feared agency being the one contracting and providing that support may be a problem. It might deter families from accessing the services.” “That’s something the city will really need to look at in this pilot — whether they’re able to reach the families that really need it when it’s connected to ACS,” she added. The school-based early support programs are the latest partnership between ACS and the public schools. Last school year, education and child protective officials revised an annual training to help school staff, who are mandated by to report suspected child abuse, understand the impact of calling the state’s hotline. The overhaul focused on objective facts while warning against implicit bias, and resources available for families without a hotline call. “Unnecessary child protective investigations can cause families immense stress and lasting trauma,” Schools Chancellor David Banks said in a statement, “which is why I am so grateful to the Administration for Children’s Services for their hard work ensuring schools have the ability to point families to critical resources instead of filing an unneeded report.”