The 1995 discovery of five-year-old Marisol locked in a closet and the death of six-year-old Elisa Izquierdo threw the media spotlight on one of the most expensive and dysfunctional child welfare systems in the nation. Children's Rights had been working for several years to bring the system's abuses to light, and in December 1995 filed a lawsuit on behalf of over 100,000 children subjected to the failings of both the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) and New York City's Administration for Children Services (ACS).
In 1999, the parties reached historic settlements. The settlement with the City created an Advisory Panel of child welfare experts to help turn ACS around. This arrangement has produced substantial reforms in ACS. For example, ACS has achieved lower caseloads, obtained funding for additional placements, sharply increased staff training, vastly improved its data management system, and reconfigured foster care services along neighborhood lines. The settlement with the State required OCFS to implement a statewide child welfare data managment system and to exercise oversight responsibility toward ACS, to evaluate ACS' handling of child fatalities, and to oversee corrective actions when fatality reports reflect ongoing problems.

The City Settlement Agreement expired in 2001, with substantial achievements having been gained. The State Settlement Agreement is still in effect as to the state's computer information system. Children's Rights went to court in 2001 for the state's failure to make sufficient progress in implementing the system, and is receiving semi-annual reports from the state that detail the current status of implementation. Children's Rights will continue to monitor the state's progress in complying with the terms of this component of the Agreement and will go back to court if necessary.