Child fatality and major injury reviews.

WORKING DRAFT
2007
STATE OF
WYOMING
07LSO-0420

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0255

Child fatality and major injury reviews.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Iekel, Berger, Diercks and Goggles and Senator(s) Aullman, Massie, Ross and Scott

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to child protective services; providing
for
local child protection teams
to
review all cases of preventable child deaths and major injuries; providing
mandatory
responsibilities of child protection teams; providing for confidentiality of review proceedings; providing for a child fatality and major injury review state team within the department of health; providing for coordination between local child protection teams and the state team; granting rulemaking authority; providing an appropriation; authorizing an additional position; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1.

W.S. 35
‑
1
‑
629 is created to read:

35
‑
1
‑
629.

Child protection teams; review of preventable child fatalities and major injuries; records confidential; child fatality and major injury review state team.

(a)

The department shall encourage and assist in the role of child protection teams created pursuant to W.S. 14
‑
3
‑
212 within the communities in the state in reviewing all cases involving a preventable child fatality or major injury to a child.

(b)

The department of health shall create a child fatality and major injury review state team.
The state team shall be composed of:

(i)

The state coordinator;

(ii)

A representative from the department of family services; and

(iii)

Members selected by the department from any or all of the following:

(A)

A
representative
of the district attorney's office;

(
B
)

A representative
of a law enforcement agency
;

(
C
)

A
coroner or medical examiner
;

(
D
)

A representative of a county public health or local health department
;

(
E
)

A
pediatrician or family practice physician
;

(F)

An emergency services provider;

(G)

A mental health provider;

(H)

A representative from a school district;

(
J
)

A child advocate or member of a child advocacy organization;

(
K
)

A representative from a local government;

(
M
)

Representatives from other relevant professions; and

(
N
)

Temporary members selected for the needs of a particular case as determined by the team.

(c)

The state team shall develop and implement procedures to ensure that child deaths and major injuries are reviewed and analyzed in a systematic way. The state team shall:

(i)

Adopt standards and protocols for child death and major injury reviews;

(ii)

Assist local child protection teams with case reviews;

(iii)

Work with and make recommendations to state and private entities in addressing issues of causation of child fatalities and major injuries;

(iv)

Maintain a statistical database of child deaths and major injuries to show prevalence, trends and risk factors, including but not limited to information on demographics, health, substance use, causation and other related factors, without personal identifying information. The state team is authorized to participate in a multi-state death review case reporting system;

(v)

Promote public awareness and make recommendations to the governor and the legislature to reduce the incidence of preventable child death and major injury. The state team shall make an annual report to the joint labor, health and social services interim committee regarding the statistical trends in preventable child deaths and major injuries and recommendations for preventing child deaths and major injuries;

(vi)

Work with a state coordinator, hired by the department, to implement this section.

(
d
)

The department of health shall promulgate rules and regulations to define the role and procedures of local child protection teams in reviewing child death and major injuries and the role and procedures of the state team in the review process.

(
e
)

All records and proceedings of the child protection teams in reviewing preventable child fatalities and major injuries to a child and the child fatality and major injury review state team are subject to W.S. 14
‑
3
‑
214, shall not be subject to discovery in any criminal or civil proceeding and shall not be admissible in evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding. All members of a child protection team and all persons presenting information or records to a child protection team when reviewing preventable child fatalities and major injuries to a child shall execute a sworn statement that all information, records and discussions before a child protection team shall be confidential. Meetings of child protection teams when reviewing preventable child fatalities and major injuries to a child shall not be subject to W.S. 16
‑
4
‑
401 through 16
‑
4
‑
408 and proceedings, reports and documents submitted to child protection teams shall not be subject to review under W.S. 16
‑
4
‑
201 through 16
‑
4
‑
205.

(f)

The state health officer, on behalf of the state or local teams w
hen
they are
reviewing cases involving a preventable child fatality or major injury to a child
, may inspect and copy from any Wyoming health care provider the
health and mental health records of a child's family

u
pon obtaining consent from each adult regarding his personal records, or from a parent or
guardian
regarding the records of a minor child
. All records obtained under this section are subject to the confidentiality provisions of subsection (e) of this section and shall be shredded or otherwise destroyed by the state health officer upon the conclusion of the child death or major injury review.

Section 2.

W.S. 14
‑
3
‑
212
(a), (b)(vi), (vii), by creating a new paragraph (viii), (c)(intro), (v), (vi) and by creating a new paragraph (vii)
and 14
‑
3
‑
214(a), (b)(intro) and (c) are amended to read:

14
‑
3
‑
212.

Child protection teams; creation; composition; duties; records confidential.

(a)

The state agency and the local child protective agency shall encourage and assist in the creation of child protection teams within the communities in the state. The purposes of the child protection teams shall be to identify or develop community resources to serve abused and neglected children within the community, to advocate for improved services or procedures for such children
, to review all cases involving a preventable child fatality or major injury to a child as provided in W.S. 35
‑
1
‑
629
and to provide information and assistance to the state agency, local child protection agency and multidisciplinary teams, if a multidisciplinary team has been appointed.

The department may promulgate reasonable rules and regulations in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act to define the roles and procedures of child protection teams.

(b)

The local child protection team shall be composed of:

(vi)

Representatives from other relevant professions;

and

(vii)

Temporary members selected for the needs of a particular case as determined by the team
;
.

and

(viii)

When reviewing cases involving a preventable child fatality or major injury to a child, t
he coordinator of the child fatality and major injury review state team, who shall lead the local team meetings
.

(c)

The local child protection team
may

shall
:

(v)

Identify training needs, sponsor training and raise community awareness of child protection issues;

and

(vi)

Assist and make recommendations of appropriate services in individual cases brought to it by the state agency or the local child protection agency
;
.

and

(vii)

Review all cases in the community involving a preventable child fatality or major injury to a child
.

14
‑
3
‑
214.

Confidentiality of records; penalties; access to information; attendance of school officials at interviews; access to central registry records pertaining to child protection cases.

(a)

All records concerning reports and investigations of child abuse or neglect
or child death or major injury
are confidential except as provided by W.S. 14
‑
3
‑
201 through 14
‑
3
‑
215. Any person who willfully violates this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisoned in the county jail not more than six (6) months, or both.

(b)

Applications for access to records concerning child abuse or neglect
or child death or major injury
contained in the state agency
, the department of health
or local child protective agency shall be made in the manner and form prescribed by the state agency
or the department of health
. Upon appropriate application, the state agency
or the department of health
shall give access to any of the following persons or agencies for purposes directly related with the administration of W.S. 14
‑
3
‑
201 through 14
‑
3
‑
216
and 35
‑
1
‑
629
:

(c)

A physician or person in charge of an institution, school, facility or agency making the report shall receive, upon written application to the state agency

or the department of health
, a summary of the records concerning the subject of the report.

Section 3.

There is appropriated one hundred forty-eight thousand dollars ($148,000.00) for the period beginning July 1, 2007 and ending June 30, 2008 from the general fund to the department of health for the purposes of this act. The department of health is authorized one (1) additional full-time equivalent position for purposes of this act.

Section 4.

This act is effective July 1, 2007.

(END)

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HB0255