The Virginia State Child Fatality Review Team was established by the General Assembly in 1995. The purpose of fatality review is to systematically analyze child deaths to determine if the deaths could be prevented and to make recommendations for education, training, and prevention. The Child Fatality Review Team is multi-disciplinary and includes physicians and representatives from state and local agencies who provide services to families and children or who may be involved in the investigation of child death. The multi-disciplinary team, which is governed by the principles and practices of public health, yields insights, interventions, and strategies that form the basis for recommendations. The Chief Medical Examiner is Chair of the Virginia Child Fatality Review Team.
The Team is chaired by the Chief Medical Examiner and is composed of 18 members, including the following persons or their designees:
Representatives of the following are appointed by the Governor to serve for three-year terms:
Special advisors are appointed to the Team based on their area of expertise:
The Team systematically analyzes deaths among Virginia’s children who are less than 18 years of age that fall into the following classes:
The Team develops and revises, as necessary, operating procedures for the review of child deaths by:
The Team’s review of a child death is conducted after investigation and prosecution are concluded. A child’s records may be obtained from a health care provider, school, law enforcement, social services, or courts. All information obtained is protected by confidentiality. Neither the records nor information are discoverable. Team members and attendees execute a sworn statement to honor confidentiality. To ensure confidentiality, meetings discussing individual cases are closed and, at the conclusion of review, records are to be shredded.
Information that is gathered through records and Team meetings may be disclosed in summary form. After review, t he Team develops recommendations and summary data that do not identify individual children. Data are provided to the Governor and the General Assembly. The Team’s review data and recommendations are distributed in published reports, which are available to the public.
For more information, contact:
Virginia Powell, Ph.D.
Virginia.Powell@vdh.virginia.gov
(804) 205-3854
Local Child Fatality Review Teams
The investigation and prevention of childhood fatalities are responsibilities shared by the community and agencies that serve that community. Therefore local Child Fatality Review Teams allow a community to assess and address the specific issues that surround the deaths of their children. Virginia currently has three local fatality review teams.
Piedmont Region Child Fatality Review Team
The Piedmont Regional Child Fatality Review Team was organized in 1994 under
the guidance of the regional office of the Department of Social Services and the Child Abuse Prevention Council of the Roanoke Valley . The Team serves the geographic area of the Virginia Department of Social Services and the staff from the state office in Roanoke serves as the main contact agency for the review team. The team serves the following localities: Alleghany, Amherst , Appomattox , Bath , Bedford , Botetourt, Buckingham, Campbell , Covington , Craig, Danville , Franklin , Halifax , Henry, Martinsville , Patrick, Pittsylvania, Rockbridge Area, Roanoke County , Roanoke City , and Lynchburg .
For more information, contact:
Teresa Biggs
teresa.biggs@dss.virginia.gov
( 540) 857-7867
Fairfax County Child Fatality Prevention Team
The Fairfax County Child Fatality Prevention Team was established in 1994. The Fairfax County Team is one of the few in the country to review all child deaths including accidental and natural deaths. The Fairfax Team reviews all fatalities for children under the age of 18 who were either residents of the County or died in Fairfax County , including the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church . The Team also serves as a consultant to neighboring jurisdictions when requested.
For more information, contact:
Jim Pope
jpope2@co.fairfax.va.us
(703) 324-7415
Hampton Roads Child Fatality Review Team
The Hampton Roads Regional Child Fatality Review Team began in August 1994. The meeting was convened by the Hampton Roads Committee to Prevent Child Abuse and Children's Hospital of The King 's Daughters with the purpose of establishing a local response to the problem of child fatalities. The Hampton Roads Team serves a large and diverse geographic area. It includes the cities of Hampton , Chesapeake , Newport News , Williamsburg , Norfolk , Portsmouth , Virginia Beach, Suffolk , and Franklin as well as the counties of Accomack, Brunswick , Isle of Wight , Surry, Southampton , Northampton , Greensville , Sussex , James City and York/Poquoson.
For more information, contact:
Gail Heath
gail.heath@dss.virginia.gov
(757) 491--3987
Motor Vehicle Deaths to Children in Virginia
Published: May, 2009
Review of Caretaker Homicide and Undetermined Child Death & Overview of Child Death
Published: May, 2005
Child Death in Virginia: 2001
Published: December, 2002
Unintentional Injury Deaths Among Virginia's Children, Aged Four and Younger:
1998 & A Portrait of All Child Deaths in Virginia: 1998
Published: December, 2001
Suicide Fatalities Among Children & Adolescents in Virginia 1994-95 Report Preview
Published January, 2000
Child Fatalities in Virginia: 1994
Published: September 1998
For additional information about childhood firearm fatalities, please check VDH's Sept/Oct,'99 Epidemiology Bulletin .
DISCLAIMER
These links are external to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. We offer them to users who are looking for additional information on child safety or child death review.
Children's Safety in Virginia
Children's Safety: National Organizations
Child Fatality Review Teams in Other States
National Fatality Review Organizations
For more information, contact:
Virginia Powell, Ph.D.
(804) 205-3854