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Child Death Review Teams

Child death review teams (also known as child fatality review teams) exist in most States to review child abuse and neglect fatalities and suspicious child deaths. Results of these reviews may be used to improve services, advocate for change, and conduct public awareness activities, ultimately for the purpose of preventing future child maltreatment deaths. Resources include State and local examples.

Best Practices in Prevention-Oriented Child Death Review
Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center
Reviews a broad range of interventions to prevent child injury and death, including child abuse and neglect fatalities, and rates the strength and quality of published evidence supporting the efficacy of the intervention. Includes a logic model and a recommendation generator tool to help formulate effective prevention recommendations.

Child Death Review: State of the Nation (PDF - 85 KB)
Webster, Schnitzer, Jenny, Ewigman, & Alario
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 25(1), 2003
Describes the status of child death review in the United States and documents variability in program purpose, scope, organization, and process.

Child Death Review Teams: A Vital Component of Child Protection
Hochstadt
Child Welfare, 85(4), 2006
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Examines the role and functions of child death review teams and their contributions to child welfare in practice, prevention, and policy.

A "How To" Guide for Child Fatality Review Teams
National Center on Child Fatality Review (2001)
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Provides basic information about team structures and procedures and suggests solutions to common problems faced by child death review teams, such as resistance to cooperation, lost records, confidentiality, and limited State resources. Outlines requirements for a central log or data system to be used by teams.

Preventing Child Fatalities: The Role of State Child Death Review
National Conference of State Legislatures (2004)
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Provides an overview of State child death review processes, examines what is known about their effectiveness, and discusses implications for State policymakers. Highlights several State child death review programs and describes Federal initiatives to standardize the child death review process and provide assistance to States.

A Program Manual for Child Death Review: Strategies to Better Understand Why Children Die and Taking Action to Prevent Child Deaths
National MCH Center for Child Death Review (2004)
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Describes strategies for developing and managing a State or local child death review program. Suggestions are also offered for conducting an effective review and making effective recommendations that translate the understanding of how a child died into action to prevent other deaths.

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State and local examples

Child Deaths in Michigan: Michigan Child Death State Advisory Team Second Annual Report (PDF - 2850 KB)
Michigan Public Health Institute (2001)
Summarizes findings from 1996 through 1999 of 57 community child death review teams in Michigan. Recommends improvements for human service agencies and strategies to prevent child deaths.

State Spotlights
National Center for Child Death Review
Provides contact information, websites, reports, statistics, and descriptions for child death review programs in each State.

Underascertainment of Child Maltreatment Fatalities by Death Certificates, 1990–1998 (PDF - 260 KB)
Crume, DiGuiseppi, Byers, Sirotnak, & Garrett
Pediatrics, 110(2), 2002
Compares data collected by a multidisciplinary child fatality review team with vital records for all children birth to 16 years who died in Colorado between January 1, 1990 and December 1, 1998.

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Updated on March 1, 2010