Suffolk (NY) lawmakers pass child protection reforms after Thomas Valva's death By Rachelle Blidner rachelle.blidner@newsday.com @rachelleblidner Updated June 24, 2020 11:28 AM The Suffolk County Legislature on Tuesday approved a package of bills aimed at reforming Child Protective Services in response to the death of Thomas Valva, 8, who authorities say died of hypothermia after being forced to spend the night in a freezing Center Moriches garage. The Child Protective Services Transformation Act, proposed in early March by County Executive Steve Bellone, sets average caseload levels for caseworkers and creates a specialized CPS team to handle cases involving children with autism or other disabilities, who are more likely to be abused, officials said. The package of six bills, which also increase training for caseworkers and scrutiny for certain cases, aims to address “major failings” of the county's CPS system, Bellone said in March. CPS had investigated complaints against ...