Human services department director Grace Hou faces a big challenge in fixing an intolerable problem.

It’s easy to talk about the importance of delivering public services to those in need, but apparently much harder to see that the job is done right.

That’s an obvious conclusion to draw after another investigative report has reported terrible performance in another state department, this time the Illinois Department of Human Services.

That department’s inspector general last week released a report recommending a series of major changes to end the physical abuse and neglect of patients at the Choate Mental Health and Development Center in downstate Anna.

There have long been complaints of employee abuse of the developmentally disabled patients there. The inspector general’s report validated those suspicions, revealing a laundry list of misconduct that ought to shock the collective conscience of the people of Illinois.

The inspector general cited more than 1,500 incidents of abuse and neglect reported over the past decade. They ranged from physical abuse to outright neglect of those in need.

Further, the report cited a culture in which employees routinely kept quiet about others’ misdeeds, provided false information to investigators or otherwise colluded to make certain no one was held responsible for wrongdoing.

One good sign is that the investigation was conducted at the request of IDHS Secretary Grace Hou in order to determine the extent of the problem and determine what steps are necessary to eliminate it.

“DHS takes your findings and recommendations very seriously and will continue to work in good faith with your staff, along with our employees, and other crucial stakeholders, including parents, guardians, and disability civil rights advocates, to address them. The ongoing care, health, and welfare of our residents remains our top priority and we will continue to work diligently to provide the highest quality care,” she wrote to Inspector General Peter Neumer.

At the same time, Hou went out of her way to praise the “the outstanding, compassionate, and life-supporting work that the vast majority of the more than 600 dedicated employees at Choate do on behalf of residents and patients every day.”

Let’s not get carried away here. It’s certainly true that a few bad apples can spoil the bunch. But the inspector general’s report outlined a decade of misconduct as well as a “cover-up culture” that maintained an appalling status quo.

In that context, it’s a little early to parcel out praise.

Among the planned changes at Choate are bringing in new leadership, installing security cameras to protect the patients and improving staffing and training.

It’s a certainty that working with the developmentally disabled can be a difficult and frustrating experience. That’s why the qualities of professional dedication and ordinary human compassion are key to solving the problems at Choate.

There is one other issue that needs to be addressed: What took so long?

State Rep. Charlie Meier said he has made numerous complaints about problems at Anna that were years in the making and received no adequate response from DHS bureaucrats.

Obviously, the people in charge either weren’t paying attention or were part of the problem. That’s happened too often in Illinois. People here should demand better from those who make policy and set the rules.