NEW YORK, NY January 11, 2008 —Following her death, reports of abuse and neglect skyrocketed. The result - an increasingly overburdened family court system. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports.

According to a report by the Center for New York City Affairs, court-ordered supervision cases have nearly doubled since 2005.

At a City Council hearing, Administration for Children's Services Commissioner John Mattingly said the families who end up in court are usually those with a long history of not complying with social services.

MATTINGLY: We want to make sure that everyone understands and we could be right or wrong. The only reason those numbers are coming in is because we're worried about those children.

A state law requiring judges to check up on cases more frequently is also straining the system.

According to City Councilman Bill De Blasio, the average caseload for a judge increased 56% over the last 2 years.

The result is longer stays for kids in foster care. He's calling for a 50% increase in family court judges. For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez.