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Notice Details

Title: Expert Witness Validation
Procurement
Administration for Children's Services (ACS)
Anne H Meltzer PSY D PC
15 Leatherstocking Lane, Scarsdale, NY 10583
Services (other than human services)
Negotiated Acquisition
3/22/2024
Award
$300,000.00

PIN#06824N0005001

The expertise to validate abuse, as well as to qualify for expert testimony in court, is an extremely limited field. The pool for this particular expertise is particularly small, further magnifying the need to contract. Many experts cannot afford to put in the proper amount of time to review ACS’ cases and come up with a determination that needs to be brought before a court, and Dr. Meltzer is the only validator currently working with ACS who has the specialized expertise, experience, and qualifications to continue to provide this service. Dr. Meltzer is both familiar with the ACS cases and is recognized as an expert within the court system. Additionally, one of the two validators recently retired, leaving ACS with only one validator to assess all of the abuse and neglect cases, filed under Article X of the New York State Family Court Act, and thus, Family Court Legal Services anticipates its current need for Dr. Meltzer to increase and to be even more critical in the upcoming years.
Description

ACS seeks authorization to enter into a non-competitive Negotiated Acquisition process with Dr. Anne Meltzer. Family Court Legal Services at ACS utilizes expert validation witnesses to litigate child abuse and neglect cases brought pursuant to Article X of the New York State Family Court Act. These cases, which are usually child sex abuse cases, involve children under the age of 18 or children with developmental delays who have been sexually abused and medical evidence is inconclusive. In many cases, the children are too young to independently explain the abuses, or so traumatized that they require an expert to gain their confidence so that they can relay what happened, despite possibly being threatened by the perpetrator. The expert validation witness uses assessment tools in this specialized field to provide corroborative evidence of the abuse to the Court. This testimony removes the need for the children to testify in Court, which could further traumatize the child. Thus, without this testimony, ACS would be unable to meet its burden in Court and the children would be left in an abusive and dangerous environment.

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