The state would have had a difficult time getting approval from Family Court to permanently remove 23-month-old Cyrus Belt from his mother before he was thrown to his death from a freeway overpass on Jan. 17.

While Cyrus' mother, Nancy Chanco, had an alleged history of drug abuse, there was no record that she physically abused the child or put him "in harm's way."

In a case that has deeply disturbed the community, questions about Cyrus' supervision on Jan. 17 and in the months leading up to that day have haunted many.

Cyrus' death came after at least six separate child welfare investigations into Chanco's handling of Cyrus and his two siblings. Three of the cases resulted in findings that Chanco neglected her children.

In June 2006, Chanco was accused of abandoning Cyrus to allegedly use drugs, according to Department of Human Services records.

But none of the cases resulted in terminating Chanco's parental rights.

Under state guidelines, drug abuse by the parents is usually not enough to remove a child from the parents' care. To remove a child, the parents have to be found to severely abuse and neglect the child.

Hawai'i law defines abuse and neglect to mean physical injuries such as substantial bruising, bleeding, malnutrition, broken bones, sexual molestation, failure to provide medical care and other physical dangers.

"(We) would have had to show that her (Chanco's) direct actions would have put the child in harm's way," said Lillian Koller, director of the state Department of Human Services.

On the day Cyrus died, Chanco said she left the boy with her father, Lilo Asiata. Asiata told police he let a neighbor take the child for a walk, according to court documents and Department of Human Services records.

Matthew Higa, who lived in the same apartment complex as Chanco, has been charged with second-degree murder in Cyrus' death. Higa's attorney said yesterday Higa has a long history of mental illness, and Higa's father said he also abused drugs.

Koller said the state is now rethinking its approach to parents with a history of substance abuse who neglect their children.

"I guarantee that we are and will find ways to prevent other children from being injured or exposed to unreasonable risk or neglect by parents who are testing positive," Koller said. "That is what we are trying to zero in on."

RESOURCES NEEDED

Koller said her department is asking state lawmakers for more than $1.9 million so that social workers can conduct follow-up interviews of parents accused of abuse or neglect.

Currently, DHS doesn't have the resources to conduct such reviews, which would be done as much as a year after the cases are closed.

But these changes would not have prevented Cyrus' death, Koller said. No improvement to the state's child welfare system or to social workers' handling of the Cyrus case could have protected Cyrus from a random act of violence by a neighbor, she said.

With Chanco, each time child welfare investigators looked into her situation, the children were returned after she convinced investigators she was no longer using drugs and agreed to take part in family counseling and other services.

RAISING CONCERN

Cyrus' father, David Belt, is serving five years at the Waiawa minimum security facility on a conviction of criminal property damage and felony drug possession. He entered the jail when Cyrus was 1 month old.

Some child welfare experts say it is difficult to second-guess DHS' handling of the Chanco family.

Michael DeMattos, a faculty member at the University of Hawai'i's School of Social Work, said illegal drug use by parents in itself doesn't mean that a child will be neglected or abused.

But DeMattos said a parent that leaves the child — especially a young child — alone when they go on drug binges would probably warrant action by child welfare service workers.

A pattern of drug abuse should raise questions about the safety of children, one expert said.

"If there is a 10-year history of substance abuse ... it raises concerns for the safety and security of the children in that home," said child welfare expert Terri James-Banks, director of social work at the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect in Denver.

"That's a pretty good indicator that they are continuing to use drugs, which is clearly an injurious environment to children."

FAMILY BONDS

Child welfare officials usually favor keeping families intact and work hard to maintain parental rights if the parents show improvement, according to another expert.

"If the child was thriving and bonding (with their parent), you don't want to remove the child because it causes more harm," said Meripa Godinent, a professor at UH's School of Social Work.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.