Astor employee accused of throwing child to ground

A woman who worked at Astor Services for Children & Families and was charged with throwing a child to the ground there is no longer employed by the agency, Executive Director James McGuirk said Wednesday.

McGuirk would not discuss the specifics of the incident or what job the employee held. He said the child was not injured.

State police said Samara Nesheiwat, 24, of Poughkeepsie, was arrested at about 11:40 a.m. Tuesday at the Astor site and charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

Police said troopers responded to the facility at 6339 Mill St. (Route 9) in the village of Rhinebeck for a report of a staff member “using physical force with a service recipient.” An investigation found Nesheiwat allegedly threw a child less than 13 years old to the ground, police said.

Though declining to speak about the incident that led to Nesheiwat’s arrest, McGuirk said: “We take kids’ safety as our most important job here. When we hear about a potential incident, we have a duty to report . ... We then cooperate [with police] to the fullest extent.”

According to the Astor website, the agency “provides children’s mental health services, child welfare services, and early childhood development programs” to “children and families in New York state’s Mid-Hudson Valley region and the Bronx.”

Nesheiwat was released with a ticket to appear in Rhinebeck Village Court, police said.