out of foster care. The judge orders her into rehab and maps out the consequences of failure: "You need to get yourself together and stay clean or your child will be freed for adoption."

At 5:05, a mother who has 267 days of sobriety under her belt and has been awarded provisional custody of her daughter is congratulated by the judge: "You're doing well. Keep it up."

At 5:15 a man disputes that he is the father of a child in his custody. He says the mother a drug addict who can't be located slept around a lot. He says he doesn't think he is the dad and even if he were, he doesn't want the boy. The judge points out that two weeks ago he appeared in court asthe father of the child. The man shrugs. A lawyer for the Administration for Children Services observes that this is a "child with special needs" and suggests foster care. A lawyer for the child agrees the boy ought not be placed where he is not wanted. A lawyer for the mother says nothing. The judge looks at the father and sighs, disgusted: "This is the sad reality of family court."

New York's family court is in crisis.

Beginning in 1995, when 6-year-old Elisa Izquierdo was beaten to death after a family court judge returned the child to her abusive mother, Giuliani demanded a when-in-doubt-yank-'em-out approach to child welfare. As a result, the number of child-abuse and neglect cases being filed by the city's Administration for Children Services (ACS) has shot