EDITORIAL
New rule changes on abuse a positive move

The heartbreaking story of child-abuse victim Peter Boy Kema has long been a dark stain on the reputation of the state Department of Human Services.

We know little of the life of Peter Boy, who was 6 when he disappeared. But what we do know is painfully horrifying.

He first came to the attention of the department's Child Protective Services (now Child Welfare Services) when he was just 3 months old. Doctors at Hilo Medical Center had discovered "extensive physical damage" caused by twisting of limbs. Peter Boy and two older children were put in foster care but then returned to their parents. According to later accounts by Peter Boy's siblings, the abuse continued.

The boy was last seen in 1997. Peter Boy's father claimed that while on a trip to O'ahu, he gave the boy to a woman whom police have never been able to confirm existed.

At issue all along has been whether Child Welfare Services and the Big Island Police Department responded properly. And information on the case has been scarce.

But the public may soon learn more. DHS Director Lillian Koller now says a change in the department's administrative rules allows for the release of confidential files on Peter Boy. The department itself has set this in motion through a change in rules governing confidentiality.

This shift in attitude points to an encouraging sea change.

Koller started this process when she took over the department in 2003, and the rules now give her department independent authority to allow exceptions regarding confidentiality when the department believes it is in the state's best interest.

Koller calls it a huge step forward. And she's right.

Clearly, it is too late for Peter Boy. Police believe he is dead.

But it is not too late to assess what happened, what needs to be fixed and who should be held accountable.

Perhaps, with a dose of due diligence, changes can be made so that never again is there a case where the system so clearly fails a child.