A watchdog agency released a report last week on how well the state of Washington is protecting children under its auspices. The report from the Office of the Family and Children’s Ombudsman is replete with depressing details about the neglect and abuse suffered by children, and it contains pointed criticism for the state agency that is ultimately responsible.

But to get a broader perspective of the state of child protective services it’s important to look at where we’ve been. Are we on a positive trajectory? The answer appears to be yes.

That’s not to say the Department of Social and Health Services doesn’t have a lot of work to do, and the response to the critique by Children’s Administration shows that the agency can still be defensive.

But the fact that the agency has to defend itself at all is a step forward.

The state Legislature created the ombudsman’s office in the mid-1990s, after the death of a 3-year-old child who was under DSHS’ supervision and the discovery of years of sexual abuse at a state-spon- sored youth ranch. The sexual-abuse investigations in Wenatchee were also under way.

The concern at the time was that DSHS wasn’t listening to the concerns of families and others and the agency couldn’t be held accountable for its decisions because confidentiality shielded its work from the public.

Because the ombudsman’s office was granted access to confidential records, it has been able to formulate recommen- dations for improvements, with the ultimate goal being improved supervision of children. The Legislature has acted on some of those recommendations and so has DSHS.

But the latest report, which covers 2004, shows that this is a work in progress and nobody should be satisfied with the results.

Eighty-seven children who were in the care of or had recent contact with Children’s Administration died. The report says that 61 of those deaths may have resulted from abuse or neglect. Children’s Administration disputes the numbers, saying they are much lower if abuse and neglect are based on the stricter interpretation used by coroners and medical examiners.

The truth may lie somewhere in between the different measurements, but this public discussion is a sign of progress. This is the first time the ombudsman has taken an in-depth look at the possible causes of death.

The ombudsman also noted that previous recommendations have yet to be fully implemented, but it is encouraging that Children’s Administration doesn’t dispute the need for changes, which include the continued lowering of caseloads, better support for foster parents and granting children who have been removed from home more access to their relatives.

Though the annual report was grim, the state’s ombudsman noted that a prelimi- nary look at 2005 shows improvement.

If that turns out to be true, the state will know that it’s on the right path to improving the safety of defenseless children.