A city lawmaker is calling on the administration to add funding to the city budget permanently for preventative services.

City Council Member Bill de Blasio is pushing to maintain the $4.2 million allocated in the wake of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown’s death a year ago, allegedly at the hands of her parents. Since then, the Administration for Children’s Services has experienced a surge in the use of preventative services, while calls to report abuse have increased, Mr. de Blasio said.

At a news conference outside City Hall yesterday, Mr. de Blasio and child advocates also called for an increase in the number of judges serving the city’s Family Court. Under state law, the number of judges, 47, has not changed since 1991, though caseloads have increased.

Family Court estimates indicate that neglect filings for 2006 will be 163% higher than 2005, and abuse filings will increase 63%, Mr. de Blasio said.

At a city council hearing yesterday, officials also expressed concern for the overburdened judges.

To compensate, the court system has temporarily transferred eligible judges to Family Court from other courts, officials testified. The court also has expanded its use of alternative dispute resolution and appointed 16 court attorney referees to monitor hearings to free up judges.

“Despite this record of innovation, it is still clear that the Family Court is under-resourced. Simply put, Family Court could use more judges,” the city’s criminal justice coordinator, John Feinblatt, said.

In an unusual appearance, an aide representing Senator Clinton, Yekyu Kim, read a statement on her behalf. Touching on recent federal legislation dealing with child welfare services as well as the burden on the city’s Family Courts, she underscored the need to support federal funding with state resources. “It is critical that we continue to encourage states to properly equip themselves to ensure quality service for our most vulnerable children,” she said.