The latest audit on the state's foster care program can be a helpful reminder of the need for good accounting — as long as we keep it in the proper perspective.

The agency's Child Welfare Services Branch took some heat last week in a report from State Auditor Marion Higa, an assessment that pointed out recordkeeping problems in the Foster Board Payment Program. Incomplete records have led to lost revenue: The auditor calculated more than $800,000 in overpaid assistance during the audit period of three months.

Most of that loss arose because staffers sending out the checks to foster parents weren't told that children had been transferred to other homes, usually a simple failure of a social worker to relay that information to those keeping the records.

Where the department feels justifiably stung by the report is in the conclusion that such lapses put children "at risk." While keeping up with the data is important, the real danger lies in inadequate personal contact between social workers and families — a problem that department officials clearly grasp and are working to fix.

In their response to the audit, officials correctly note that the workload overwhelms the inadequate staffing, which has been directed to place its highest priority on child safety.

That is exactly where the focus belongs.

The state Child Welfare Services Branch met last week with federal officials, reviewing its program improvement plan that has been in the works for two years. The department is already taking steps that could improve the way records are kept: a combination of better digital file sharing and, more importantly, regular face-to-face meetings with staff so updates are shared.

Best of all, the agency has increased caseworker visits with families. That's the surest way of keeping children safe.