Gov. Mark Sanford's announcement that he will consider cutting the number of agencies that serve troubled youth in our state is a tacit acknowledgment that fragmented, disjointed efforts have made many children worse off instead of better.

While the governor offered no specifics, other than to say he wants to cut the number of agencies responsible for monitoring group homes, he has provided a good start to overhauling a dysfunctional system of duplication and failure.

Responsibility for these children is primarily split between the Department of Social Services and the Continuum of Care.

This diffusion of responsibility contributes to these abused and neglected children being moved from home to home and subjected to multiple case managers and evaluations. Often treatment is duplicated or it lapses.

South Carolina spends $140 million a year on troubled children, and this well-intentioned commitment must be matched by an improved organizational structure that puts treatment first, holds treatment and residential providers accountable, and facilitates better interagency communication.

This organizational overhaul is needed to produce what is obviously lacking: cohesion and interagency communication that will guarantee each child has someone principally responsible for managing care.