LEG A L DIVISIONS
Interstate Child Support Unit
During 2011, the Unit received 6,062
new cases, secured 1,396 ?nal orders of
child support, and established paternity in
489 cases. Attorneys defended against
1,763 petitions from non-custodial parents
to reduce support. Of custodial parents
who sought court relief, 78 percent were
granted it. On behalf of the City, the Unit
?led 162 cases in 28 other states, the
District of Columbia, and a number of foreign
countries, including Australia, Germany,
Israel, and the United Kingdom. Recently,
the Unit recovered a $34,000 lump sum
payment on behalf of a Pennsylvania mother
seeking child support arrears.
Successful Juvenile Prosecutions
The following cases illustrate the range of
serious offenses the Division prosecutes:
PHOTO: QUEENS COUNTY FAMILY COURT
•
FAMILY COURT
CHIEF Angela Albertus
DEPUTY Alan Sputz
The Family Court Division is divided into two subunits—Interstate
Child Support and Juvenile Delinquency Prosecution. The
Interstate Child Support Unit represents petitioners seeking child
support in cases where one parent is out-of-state. The Juvenile
Delinquency Prosecution Unit, which houses the Major Case Unit
and the Sex Offense Prosecution Unit, prosecutes juveniles accused
of committing acts that would be crimes if they were adults. In cases
where the Court finds guilt by plea or trial, attorneys then seek
dispositions that balance juveniles’ needs and best interests with
public safety concerns. Attorneys handle a wide variety of cases,
including assaults, robberies, weapons possession, drug offenses,
sex offenses, and homicides.
21
Harlem Shopping Cart Case
The Major Case Unit handled the much
publicized prosecution of two boys,
aged 12 and 13, who were arrested for
tossing a shopping cart from the fourth
?oor of a shopping mall garage in East
Harlem. The shopping cart plummeted
to the garage’s main level, striking and
critically injuring a woman who was
exiting the mall. Both juveniles pled guilty
to felony second-degree assault charges
and were placed in private residential
facilities for up to 18 months, where they
will receive rehabilitative services.
Success With Alternative
Sentencing Initiative
When delinquent youth are not a signi?cant
risk to public safety, the Division works to
identify and access appropriate services
from community-based alternatives. One such
example is 15-year-old Samantha F., whose
only arrest was for shoplifting. Samantha had
struggled with a long history of depression
and non-compliant behavior at home and
school. Her mother had sought assistance
through various programs, including the
court system, without success. Court
reports indicated that Samantha had further
trouble with truancy, substance issues,
and hospitalizations after suicide attempts.
Samantha, who stayed out of her home for
days at a time and suffered trauma after
having been recruited by a gang and possibly
sexually exploited, was also diagnosed with
post-traumatic stress disorder. Division social
workers successfully advocated for her
to receive services from a family-focused,
home-based therapy program. She was
granted a period of probation to comply with
the program, which specializes in treating
youth with higher mental health needs and
who have experienced trauma.
ASSAULT, 1888, 22%
ROBBERY, 1410, 18%
GRAFFITI/CRIMINAL MISCHIEF, 782, 10%
OTHER, 773, 10%
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Serial Sexual Assaults
The Sex Offense Prosecution Unit ?led
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