POLICE GET STATE FILES TO HELP PROTECT KIDS

The state will open its child welfare records to police in a move
sparked by the Jan. 17 death of 23-month-old Cyrus Belt.

Formerly confidential files on neglect, violence and substance abuse
within families will be shared with the goal of protecting
vulnerable children in the future, according to the announcement
yesterday by the state Department of Human Services.

Department Director Lillian Koller said Belt's death "dramatically
underscored the importance of protecting our children from harm."

"By creating a closer working relationship between our state agency
and the county police departments, we can collectively make better
informed decisions about whether to place a child in emergency
foster care," said Koller in a news release.

Koller also announced other initiatives intended to protect at-risk
children. She offered to provide computers, software and training
for police officers to aid in risk assessments when they encounter
possible cases of child abuse or neglect.

The administration has also proposed a law that would add family
members to the list of medical personnel, teachers and others
required to report known child abuse or neglect.

In response to a child neglect case last year, that bill and another
were drafted to allow follow-up visits to homes even after child
abuse or neglect reports were not confirmed. The parents of a
12-year-old girl who nearly died of starvation were charged with
attempted murder in the case.

"We will never know if sharing our confidential files could have
saved the life of Cyrus, but heightened communication between first
responders and DHS staff can certainly prevent future tragedies,"
Koller said in the release.

A police officer found Belt wandering in his Makiki neighborhood
about an hour before his death and returned the child to the family
apartment. A neighbor, Matthew Higa, has been charged with
second-degree murder for allegedly throwing the child from a freeway overpass.

Koller said earlier that if police had reported the incident,
welfare officials would have immediately responded because of the
family record. Child Welfare Services was scheduled to make a home
inspection to the Iolani Avenue apartment because of a report that
Belt's mother had tested positive for crystal methamphetamine on a
Jan. 11 visit to the Queen's Medical Center emergency room.

The Department of Human Services released information earlier about
the history of drug use by the child's adult caregivers and
investigations into neglect involving the child and a sibling.

A Honolulu Police Department spokesman said it is possible that
release of the child welfare information would require a change in the law.

"The security on that information has been very tight in the past,"
said police Capt. Frank Fujii.

"We support anything that will ensure the safety of the community,"
the police spokesman said. "We continue to work to facilitate better
communication."