Posted on: Sunday, May 1, 2005

COMMENTARY
Kids' safety takes priority

By Lillian Koller

Protecting children from abuse and neglect is a responsibility and obligation that we take to heart at the Department of Human Services. We recognize that there are many dedicated individuals and community groups throughout the state who care and can assist in this vital effort. However, federal and state laws require us to keep confidential all Child Welfare Services records, including any reports of abuse and neglect, investigations, assessments and the identities of all involved.

Understandably, confidentiality is intended to shield vulnerable children and their families from unnecessary public intrusion, embarrassment and stigma. But there are times when exceptions to confidentiality should be made, such as when releasing information may help ensure the safety of a child, find a missing child, identify a relative to care for a child, or assist a doctor's treatment of a child.

Although federal and state laws allow exceptions to confidentiality, over the years, DHS never adopted administrative rules that would allow the release of information to the public when it is in the best interest of the child.

Within a few months of taking the position of DHS director, I encountered the frustration of not being able to get information out when it was in the best interest of the child to do so. Too often, we found our hands tied when trying to protect the most vulnerable of our children.

This changed recently when DHS adopted new confidentiality rules to include the exceptions that will allow us to seek aid outside the state's child welfare system to help children.

The new administrative rules, approved in December by Gov. Linda Lingle, will help us disclose, without court order or consent from any parties, confidential information to agencies such as the police, prosecutors and even the media to help find missing children or assist in the investigation of a child's case. These new guidelines can be used to release critical information quickly — records such as child-abuse reports, psychological evaluations and medical documents — that may be key to locating a child who is abducted, runs away or is lost.

Through the media, these new rules can also be used to solicit information from the public to assist in a criminal investigation of a child who is dead or critically injured by abuse or neglect. The new rules also allow DHS to release information to physicians who are caring for a child they suspect may be the victim of child abuse or neglect. We can also disclose information to providers to help us search for noncustodial parents or relatives as support for these children and their families.

We are currently in the process of training our Child Welfare Services staff about the new rules so they can use them appropriately. This January, we conducted statewide training sessions for Child Welfare Services staff in which questions about the new rules could be answered. Last week, I also issued a new policy directive that whenever a child in DHS custody is missing, the department must immediately file a police report, contact the child's birth and foster parents, and request media assistance to find the child. In addition to a physical description of the child, we will provide the media with a photograph and other pertinent information.

The tragic case of Peter Boy Kema, who disappeared in 1996, is an example of how these confidentiality rules may help us achieve justice for this child. While the media petitioned the courts for the release of information in this case, the information was never released, and the case dragged on without resolution or any sign of Peter Boy.

Now, eight years later, with the guidance and support of the Lingle-Aiona administration, we are using the new rules to provide full disclosure of Child Welfare Services records to Hilo police and prosecutors. In the pursuit of justice and in an effort to bring closure to this tragedy, we also intend to release these records to the media. We hope that someone, somewhere, may finally know what happened to Peter Boy.

Looking ahead, we see these new rules as a significant step forward — as a way to tear through the shroud of secrecy covering CWS records that can sometimes interfere with child safety and justice.

What is most important to all of us is keeping children safe and protected. Our hope is that children who are missing can be found quickly; perpetrators of child abuse who believe they are above the law can be prosecuted; and the families of children who have died, without knowing how or why, can get closure to help deal with their loss, pain and grief.

Lillian Koller is director of the state Department of Human Services. She wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.