EDITORIAL STOPPING ABUSE IT SHOULDN'T TAKE LITIGATION TO GET GOVERNMENT TO DO ITS JOB.

THE good news of much-needed reform at MacLaren Children's Center is tempered, as usual, by the bad news that preceded it.

In both the city and county of Los Angeles, things must always get much worse before they get better.

The horrors at the county's residential facility for emotionally troubled and abused children were never any great secret. They've been documented for years - kids running away, abusive personnel, children not getting placed in the foster homes they need.

Exposes and complaints weren't enough to effect any meaningful change. For that, litigation was necessary.

As a result of a class-action lawsuit last November, the county has finally begun to clean up MacLaren. The resident population has declined, a result of more kids going into foster care. On-site psychological care is now available 24 hours a day, and the number of runaways has dropped by more than 50 percent in a year.

These are all great developments, but it shouldn't take lawsuits to get government to do it its job correctly.

Whether it's reforming child services, county jails, public schools or the Los Angeles Police Department, it would be nice, just once, to see local leaders take the initiative on their own.