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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Tuesday, June 7, 2005

EDITORIAL
Koller deserves praise for social initiatives

Lillian Koller, Hawai'i's aggressive if sometimes controversial social services chief, has applied a welcome, healthy measure of openness to her agency's work for the state's needy.

The director of the state Department of Human Services has gained notoriety primarily in the recent release of the massive files kept on the tragic "Peter Boy" Kema case. The circumstances surrounding the Big Island child, presumed dead since his 1997 disappearance, has captured the concern of the general public, and Koller's intervention appears to be reinvigorating the Kema probe. While there is no assurance of a solution here, surely this more enlightened policy on the release of records will aid future investigations.

Of course, the state Department of Human Services has been at the eye of several storms, and often reviews have had a less-than-admiring tone. In 2003, the agency was hit with a stinging audit that called for greater assurances to the public about the safety of children under its supervision, and federal agents have identified myriad deficiencies in the child welfare system. Other controversies included internal opposition to a new classification of employee able to take on some duties traditionally held by certified social workers.

But none of that negates the value of initiative Koller and staff have shown in various social issues. In another recent example, DHS proactively sought out state funds to offset a drug co-payment that would have been borne by the poorest healthcare consumers — those who belong both to the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Change often comes slowly and painfully in the culture of government, but it's good to see examples of Koller's willingness to advocate for the state's neediest and most vulnerable citizens.