Releases & Statements

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  June 11, 2007
Contact: John Collins
(212) 669-4193; (917) 496-4587
Release #: 030-2007

Public Advocate Gotbaum: How Many Kids Did ACS Expose to Experimental HIV Drugs?

- Gotbaum calls for an independent Office of Child Advocate to strengthen system and protect kids -

MANHATTAN – Public Advocate Gotbaum today renewed calls for an independent Office of the Child Advocate, pointing to new evidence that the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) may have exposed more than 650 foster kids to experimental HIV/AIDS drugs in the 1990s – nearly a 50 percent increase over previous claims. Public Advocate Gotbaum said that the ballooning number of children raises serious questions about the agency’s oversight of kids in its care.

In 2004, ACS admitted allowing foster kids to be used in experimental HIV/AIDS tests. Some foster children were given adult doses of experimental drugs. Some were subjected to experiments without parental permission or an ACS-appointed guardian. Initially, ACS said that approximately 50 children were involved in these tests. However, after ACS did a preliminary review, their number quickly rose to 465 kids. The updated number, 663, was recently released by the Vera Institute of Justice, the organization appointed by ACS to review the use of children in these HIV/AIDS experiments. The review process is still not complete, and there is no official deadline.

Public Advocate Gotbaum said, “How could ACS not know who and how many kids were involved in these experimental tests? Their inability to track kids in the system and ensure their safety raises serious questions. Clearly it’s time for us to have an independent body with oversight over ACS, so we can learn about - and fix - problems as they occur, not find out about them years later.”