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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Tragic death shows gaps in safety net protecting keiki

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Honolulu residents are still mourning little Cyrus Belt, after leaving tributes of flowers, balloons and toys on the pedestrian overpass where he met his tragic death. Occurring in the wake of another brutal killing in Kailua, this is the senseless type of crime that leaves a city reeling.

Is this the violent kind of community we've become?

While that question defies an easy answer, it should spur leadership to action.

Of course, the primary responsibility for a child's welfare lies with his family. But this incident shows that the safety net protecting children also must be strengthened.

That becomes the job of the state Department of Human Services and the elected leaders who make state policy.

It's important at the outset to commend department Director Lillian Koller for moving quickly to make many of the case records public. Koller has made numerous reviews of controversial cases very transparent; in the case of Cyrus Belt, this should help policymakers understand where the problems might lie.

Problems in what is now called the Child Welfare Services division have been noticed in past state audits, including a 2003 report that noted "deficiencies in supervision, decision-making and communication" that left children at risk.

Department statements and released records indicated that Cyrus Belt had been taken from his mother because of her drug use when he was an infant, but that in recent months there had been no reason to suggest that the child should be removed again. Perhaps this tragic crime could not have been anticipated.

However, further checks of the household could have provided critical information and another layer of protection.

The Lingle administration is proposing legislative changes that would mandate family members to report abuse and neglect, and would enable more oversight in cases where there have been unconfirmed reports of abuse. Those ideas deserve serious discussion.

In addition, the Legislature needs to take a hard look at the department's resources. This agency is struggling to meet ever-mounting demands from a society in distress — and that's what Hawai'i is, given our pervasive drug-abuse problems and economic strains. The job of the state is to equip DHS with the staffing and funds to meet its challenges more closely.

"I stand ready to make any necessary changes for the safety of Hawai'i's children," Koller said in a prepared statement released over the weekend.

That, in fact, is the pledge that our elected leaders, and the taxpayers who support their programs, need to make, as well.

More than the flowers, that would be a fitting tribute to Cyrus.

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