Sofya Uvaydov, Timothy Capowski and Jennifer Graw do a grave disservice to children in foster care by arguing that private agencies who carry out the state's responsibility for caring for children in foster care should not be treated as state actors for purposes of 42 U.S.C. §1983 liability (See The Riddle of State Actor Status for Private Foster Care Agencies, NYLJ (March 5, 2021)). New York state law places responsibility for the care and custody of abused, neglected, abandoned and destitute children squarely in the hands of the state.

The agencies to which the state delegates responsibility for caring for those children must be held to the same standards of care that the state would be if they had not contractually delegated that responsibility.

To hold agencies harmless would create the dangerous possibility that children in foster care would be left without a remedy to address violations of their constitutional rights occurring while in the state's custody. The continuing viability of the Supreme Court's long-standing precedent is essential to ensuring the safety and well-being of society's most vulnerable members. Overturning that precedent would serve no purpose other than to allow the clients of Ms. Uvaydov, Mr. Capowski and Ms. Graw to evade responsibility for harming New York's most defenseless and underserved citizens.