• by Liz Tascio , May 21, 2008

New York City's Administration for Children's Services is constantly hiring. Turnover is so high that if the agency doesn't keep recruiting to fill its 1,300 spots for child protective specialists, caseloads would soar.

But ACS might have turned the tide with a new campaign from Lotas Patton New York that debuted in city subways in March. The ads, featuring real caseworkers shot by fashion photographer Richard Phibbs, helped generate more than double the applications in March and April than in the same months last year.

"So many people sign up thinking they want to save the world, and then reality hits them in the face," says Joanna Patton of LPNY. The ads ask applicants to be bold, strong, kind and more.

"We wanted to bring in people with the traits that would make them good at the job. Like most jobs, if you're good at it, you'll stay," says Sharman Stein, director of communications, ACS.