IT IS ALWAYS DIFFICULT to call for new initiatives in such tight fiscal times as South Carolina is experiencing. However, we believe Department of Social Services Director Kim Aydlette is on the right track in exploring a more aggressive and coordinated system for reviewing child fatalities.

Ms. Aydlette told The Charlotte Observer that she is researching the creation of local child fatality review teams. The action was prompted by an Observer series that detailed the 112 South Carolina children who have died after contact with social workers since 1994.

The newspaper’s series focused primarily on North Carolina. And it did find some aspects of the Palmetto State’s system that are superior. For example, DSS officials here said they do not have trouble getting criminal records from police. The North Carolina agency reported high cost and low access to such records when reviewing potential foster parents. The agency cited that as a significant roadblock in its efforts to prevent child abuse and deaths in the foster care system.

Other aspects of South Carolina’s system did not look good in the newspaper’s examination.

For example, 16 counties here have local health and safety councils. But their missions and the participation level of members vary widely, and the panels receive no funding. They do not all perform regular death reviews.

According to The Observer, South Carolina’s state-level Child Fatality Advisory Committee analyzes the deaths of children involved in social services cases, as well as hundreds of other child deaths outside the system. However, the discussion is general and seeks only to identify trends. The newspaper reported that S.C. DSS performs an internal review of child deaths that occurred within six months of contact with the agency, but that the findings are kept confidential.

Ms. Aydlette said she is interested in a more structured, cross-agency review of deaths. That will take money, and it’s difficult to see where DSS would come up with much now. The agency’s state budget has dropped $48 million since 2001, down to $83 million. It is leaving federal money uncollected because there is not enough state money to meet match requirements. DSS has trimmed 250 jobs because of state budget cuts.

The current environment makes it even more important that state agencies operate under the best known practices available. The benefits could extend beyond state agency practices. Other states with child fatality review have adopted reforms in areas outside of social services. For example, such review might show that a dangerous roadway should have its speed limit lowered or that children would benefit from being required to wear bicycle helmets.

Child health and safety is important anywhere. However, the value of keeping children well and unharmed must be absolutely paramount when the state is taking a custodial role over those children. If ever that system falls short, as it tragically has in the past, a thorough, documented and open review must be conducted. The circumstances that led to a child’s death must be identified so that they are not repeated within our social services system.

Our state and our social services agency are in the clutch of an unprecedented budget crisis. It is good to see that is not being used as an excuse to stop looking for and aspiring to the best possible methods of caring for vulnerable children.