By Milton Allimadi

Photos: Milton Allimadi

A Queens, New York, mother of three has alleged that a foster agency—whose former CEO is the former ACS Commissioner—may not have vigorously investigated alleged abuse of her children due to a conflict of interest. ACS stands for Administration for Children’s Services.

Cap: Ms. Gomez claims Queens judge gave her two kids for adoption because she fed them candy.

The mother claims the agency, Graham Windham, also prejudiced a family court judge to give up two of her three children for adoption—a decision she is appealing. She says there is no basis for the judge to have followed the agency’s recommendation, since she is currently allowed supervised visitation with her five-year-old child. The two children given up for adoption are ages eight and seven.

“How can I be a danger to my eight-year-old and seven-year-old, and not a danger to my five-year-old?” Faye Gomez, 28, the biological mother, said in an interview with Black Star News.

Ms. Gomez claims there may have been financial considerations in allowing the adoption; otherwise, she asks, why would she be allowed to continue visitations with the youngest child? 

Ms. Gomez is currently permitted supervised visitation with her youngest child. All three children are placed together with the same couple, who were allowed to adopt the eight- and seven-year-old.

Jess Dannhauser, who resigned on March 2, 2026, was previously the agency’s CEO until 2021, when former Mayor Eric Adams appointed him ACS Commissioner.

Dannhauser did not respond to questions concerning the alleged conflict of interest, which were also copied to him by Black Star News in February 2026, before he left ACS.

“This is clearly a conflict of interest,” Ms. Faye said. “Who knows how many children he allowed to be placed with Windham, the company he once led?”

In a Feb. 6, 2026, email message, Yvonne Chan, Graham Windham’s General Counsel, responding to an inquiry sent by Black Star News to Nichole Robinson, a case planning supervisor, said, “…in order to protect the confidentiality of children in our care, we cannot share or discuss details about our cases or families.”

Ms. Gomez questions the motives behind two of her three children being placed for adoption by Judge Margaret Morgan in a ruling on Aug. 27, 2025, even after she had successfully completed court-ordered programs, including one related to parenting.

“What’s even more shocking is the reason why Judge Morgan gave my children away for adoption,” Ms. Gomez said. “It was because I used to give them candy during my weekly supervised visits with all three of my children. This is crazy.”

Ms. Gomez’s weekly supervised visits with the eight-year-old and seven-year-old were terminated immediately after Judge Morgan ruled in favor of the adoption. “In other words, I did nothing wrong. I did everything I was asked. The visits only stopped because the judge, for no reason at all, agreed with what the agency wanted and gave away my children.”

Ms. Gomez is appealing the judge’s ruling.

Judge Morgan recused herself from the case shortly after Black Star News began making media inquiries and after this reporter appeared at one of the court hearings.

Ms. Gomez claims she has reported multiple alleged abuses of her children by the foster care parents—who became the adoptive parents following Judge Morgan’s ruling—and that she has never received a timely response from Ms. Robinson, the case planning supervisor.

Ms. Gomez said she was “horrified” when she learned from her older children that the youngest—who turns five in April—slept in the same bed as the adoptive father of her siblings, Thomas Reyes. “I met with Ms. Robinson and told her this must stop immediately,” Ms. Gomez said. “Why would a young girl be allowed to sleep with a grown man who is not even her biological father?”

She said Ms. Robinson has not confirmed or denied whether the practice continues. The agency did not respond when Black Star News asked about this allegation.

Ms. Gomez alleges that during the summer of 2023, her now seven-year-old daughter—who was four at the time—told Chadwick Melton, a Graham Windham staffer, that their foster father, Mr. Reyes, twisted her now eight-year-old brother’s hand backward with such force that he cried in pain.

Although Mr. Melton reported the incident immediately to Ms. Robinson, she did not report it to ACS until about one month later, Ms. Faye claimed. The agency did not respond to this allegation when asked by Black Star News via email.

Ms. Gomez also reports that on one occasion she observed what she believed to be dried blood in both ears of her seven-year-old daughter. She further claims the child had bruises and said she had fallen down a flight of stairs at the foster home on two occasions in December 2025. “I believe this was due to lack of supervision,” Ms. Faye said. The agency did not respond to questions from Black Star News about the alleged blood incident or the reported falls.

Ms. Faye’s children were each removed from her and placed in foster care within days after birth.

The questions Black Star News posed to Graham Windham were also copied to Mayor Mamdani’s communications department.

Part One of a series.