But social workers at other hospitals echoed Ms. Paolini's frustrations at the lag in reaching agency caseworkers.

She said clients could still meet regularly with agency caseworkers and that caseworkers would visit those too sick to leave their rooms.

"In Brooklyn we went to visit one of the field offices," recalled a former agency caseworker who took part in the review.

City officials, however, said such cherry-picking would not occur under the new plan because city workers would be working hand-in-hand with agency caseworkers to develop plans for each child.

While in her custody agency caseworkers had little to no contact with Terrell and there were no monthly visits.

Those programs include, among other things, improving domestic violence training for agency caseworkers and establishing 12 teams of domestic violence experts to advise caseworkers and supervisors.

Next door to Ms. Scott's apartment, a neighbor said an agency caseworker had visited her on Thursday evening to discuss the death.

In addition, the panel said agency caseworkers should be told that proof of substance abuse alone creates "a presumption of abuse or neglect."

But the little boy's face still haunts the agency caseworkers and court volunteers.

But he said that a state hiring freeze, which went into effect in November 1988, had decreased the number of agency caseworkers to 1,250 from 1,400.