New York City's next mayor will oversee the 7,000 employees of the nearly $3 billion Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), taking charge as the City recovers from the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic and responds to the public’s ever-growing demand for racial justice. So far, the leading candidates have been largely silent about how they will handle that piece of the job.

In an effort to hear more, the nonprofit news outlet The Imprint and the Center for New York City Affairs conducted a joint survey of the leading candidates. Six candidates responded to questions about how they would address racial injustice in the child welfare system, care for transition-age foster youth, and address the role poverty plays in separating parents from their children. Although they mostly emphasized their broader anti-poverty plans, some provided their most detailed and substantive public remarks thus far on the child welfare system.