? Administration for Children?s Services (ACS) workers at Bronx and other field offices staged pickets Thursday to draw attention to what they see as an agency on the brink of destruction.

Caseworkers at East 151st Street complain they have 35 cases each, compared to ACS? recommended 12. One employee claims a worker walked off the job because she was overwhelmed by her reported 50 cases. ACS workers also say they face intimidation from mangers and morale is at an all-time low following the high profile deaths of children who were being monitored by ACS.

ACS officials say they are working to hire and properly train new caseworkers. About 175 recently graduated and the agency expects to hire more than 500 by the end of summer.