The state’s Child Welfare Services has not explained its actions — or lack of action — in the case of a 3-year-old killed in June. Her grandmother says she warned the state that the girl and her siblings were being starved.

Some child abuse cases garner publicity and trigger outrage. But because of the state’s secrecy, others never even come to light.

A close look at a new $600,000 settlement by the Department of Human Services reveals the child welfare bureaucracy’s shortcomings. It’s just the latest big award.

Judge Matthew Viola admitted that the public has an interest in how the state and Family Court placed Isabella Kalua with the parents accused of killing her.

The boy lived for five years in the Wahiawa home of Thomas and Brandy Blas and like Geanna suffered severe abuse and neglect, the complaint says.

In the absence of legislative oversight, litigation is one of the few ways to find out what went wrong.

Two bills already approved by their respective houses aim to correct a longtime shortcoming, though it remains to be seen if it’s the right approach.

The only way to prevent this horror from being repeated is by publicly dissecting exactly what went wrong.

The details of the state’s involvement in placing and overseeing 10-year-old Geanna Bradley are still hazy. What can we conclude so far?

Sarah Coultas only found out about the placement by chance two and a half months later, despite a state regulation requiring parents to be informed.