Child fatality review.

WORKING DRAFT
2008
STATE
OF
WYOMING
08LSO-0283

HOUSE BILL
NO.
HB0167

Child fatality review.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Iekel, Esquibel, K., Hallinan and Petersen and Senator(s) Aullman, Landen and Ross

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to child fatality review
s
; providing for a child fatality and major injury review
state

team
created within the
department of health
; providing for confidentiality of review proceedings; creating protection for review
team
members and review findings; providing for local review
teams
to review all cases of preventable child
fatalities
and major injuries; providing mandatory responsibilities of review
teams
; providing for coordination between local review
teams
and the
state

team
; granting rulemaking authority; and providing for an effective date.

Be it Enacted by the Legislature of the
state
of
Wyoming
:

Section 1
.

W.S. 35
‑
1
‑
1
1
01 through 35
‑
1
‑
1
1
06

are
created to read:

ARTICLE 1
1
CHILD FATALITY AND MAJOR INJURY REVIEWS

35
‑
1
‑
1
1
01.

Definitions
.

(a)

For purposes of this article:

(
i
)

"
Child
"
means a person under eighteen
(18)
years of age;

(
ii
)

"
Major injury
"
means sexual abuse or bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death, severe disfigurement, protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ, second or third degree burns, fracture of any bone, subdural hematoma or substantial malnutrition which
appear
s
possibly to have been caused by trauma, suspicious or obscure circumsta
nces
or child abuse or neglect;

(
iii
)

"
Preventable death
"
means a death which reasonable medical, social, legal
, psychological
or educational
intervention may have prevented;

(
iv
)

"
Provider of medical care
"
means a health practitioner who provides, or a facility through which is provided, medical evaluation or treatment, including dental and mental health evalu
ation or treatment;

(
v
)

"
S
tate

team
"
means the
state

c
hild

fatality and
m
ajor
i
njury
review
team
;

(
vi
)

"
Unexpected death
"
includes all child
fatalities
which, before investigation, appear possibly to have been caused by trauma, suspicious or obscure circumstances or child abuse or neglect.

35
‑
1
‑
1
1
02
.

S
tate
child fatality and major injury review
team
.

(a)

There is created within the
department of health
the
state

c
hild
m
ajor
i
njury and
f
atality
r
eview
team
. The
state

team
shall be composed of the following members appointed by the
g
overnor and
other than the members in paragraphs (i) through (iv)
shall serve terms of three (3) years:

(i)

T
he
d
irector
of the
d
epartment of
f
amily
s
ervices;

(ii)

T
he
d
irector of the
d
epartment of
h
ealth;

(iii)

T
he
state

s
uperintendent of
p
ublic
i
nstruction;

(iv)

T
he
d
irector of the
d
ivision of
c
riminal
i
nvestigation;

(v)

A representative
of
state

h
ealth
d
epartment
'
s
m
ental
h
ealth and
s
ubstance
a
buse
s
ervices
d
ivision;

(vi)

A
pediatrician with experience in diagnosing and treating child abuse and neglect;

(vii)

A coroner or medical examiner;

(viii)

A representative of the
c
ounty and
p
rosecuting
a
ttorney
'
s
a
ssociation;

(ix)

A representative of a local law enforcement agency;

(x)

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

(xi)

An emergency services provider;

(xii)

A mental health provider;

(xiii)

A member of the judiciary
who
regularly sits o
n both criminal and civil cases;

(xiv)

A member of the defense bar;

(xv)

A representative from a school district;

(xvi)

A member of a victim's advocacy group or organization;

(xvii)

A representative of the citizens review panel;

(xviii)

A child advocate or member of a child advocacy organization;

(xix)

A representative of a parent group or organization;

(x
x
)

T
wo
(2)
members of the public at-large.

(b)

The
mandatory
state

team
members may appoint
up to six (6)

other
members
to serve on the
state

team
as follows:

(i)

A guardian ad litem;

(ii)

Representatives from
other relevant professions;

(i
ii
)

T
ribal representative
s
;

(
i
v)

A military representative;

(v)

Temporary members selected for the needs of a particular case.

(c)

S
tate
agency members
and the elected official

designated in paragraphs (a)(i) through (v) of this section
shall serve ex officio and may appoint a designee to serve in their place from their particular departments or agencies who have administrative or program responsibilities
for children and families
.

Each ex officio member shall provide sufficient staff and administrative support to carry out the responsibilities of this article.

(d
)

The governor may remove any member of the
state

team
as provided in W.S. 9
‑
1
‑
202.

(
e
)

A chairman
,
vice-chairman
and secretary
of the
state

team

shall
be elected from among the members by a majori
ty vote of the membership for staggered
term
s
of two
(2)
years.

(
f
)

Meetings of the
state

team

shall
be held at least quarterly.

A majority of the
state

team
constitutes a quorum.

(
g
)

Members of the
state

team
shall not receive compensation for their services, but when actually engaged in the performance of their duties, they shall receive travel expenses, per diem and mileage expenses in the same manner and amount as employees of the
state
.

35
‑
1
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1
1
03.

Review of preventable child fatalities and major injuries;
p
urpose; duties
.

(a)

The purpose of the
state

team
is to decrease the incidence of preventable child
fatalities

and major injuries
by:

(i)

D
eveloping an understanding of the causes and incidence of child
fatalities
and major injuries
;

(ii)

R
ecommending and assisting in the
develop
ment of plans for and implementation of
changes within the agencies represented on the
team
which will prevent child
fatalities
and major injuries
; and

(iii)

A
dvising the
g
overnor and the
legislature
on statutory, policy
and practice changes which will prevent child
fatalities
and major injuries
.

(b)

To achieve i
ts purpose, the
state

team
'
s
duties include, but are not limited, to the following
:

(i)

U
ndertaking
annual statistical studies of the incidence and causes of child fatalities
and major injuries
in this
state
.

The s
tudies shall include a summary
of community and public and private agency involvement with the decedents
or victims
and their families before and subsequent to the
fatalities
or major injuries
;

(ii)

R
eview
ing
the
circumstances
of the death
or major injury
by sharing information regarding the child and family contained in the records of agencies represented on the
team
at the
state

team
'
s next scheduled meeting
.

The responsibilities for members of the
team
and dates for subsequent meetings regarding the child or family
shall
be established at the meeting;

(iii)

D
evelop
ing
a protocol for child fatality
and major injury
reviews;

(iv)

D
evelop
ing
a protocol for the collection of data regarding child
fatalities

and major injuries
;

(v)

Developing partnerships with the local review teams.
The
state

team
shall
assist the further development of case reviews by the local teams. If the state
team
in its works believes that changes to any statute or
agency
regulation, policy
or procedure
are
needed to decrease the incidence of preventable child
fatalities
or major injuries
, the
team
shall take steps to
recommend the
develop
ment
and implement
ation of
these c
hanges to regulations, policies
and procedures and shall include proposals for changes to statutes in the
team
'
s
annual report;

(vi)

E
xamin
ing
confidentiality and access to information
,

statutes, regulations, policies
and procedures for agencies with responsibilities for children including, but not limited to, health, public welfare, education, social services, mental health, al
cohol and other substance abuse
and law enforcement agencies and determin
ing
whether those
statutes, regulations, policies
or procedures impede the exchange of information necessary to protect children from preventable
fatalities
and major injuries
.

If the
state

team
identifie
s a statute, regulation, policy
or procedure that impedes the necessary exchange of information, the
team
shall notify
the relevant
state
agencies for the

purpose of
develop
ment
and implement
ation of
the
recommended
c
hanges to regulations, policies
and procedures and the
state

team
shall

include proposals for changes to statutes in the
team
'
s
annual report;

(vii)

D
evelop
ing
and implement
ing
policies and procedures for its own governance and operation;

(
viii
)

S
ubmit
ting
to the
g
overnor
, the
j
oint
j
udiciary
interim c
ommittee
and the
j
oint
l
abor,
h
ealth and
s
ocial
s
ervices
i
nterim
c
ommittee
an annual written report
by October 1 of each year
and any other reports prepared by the
state

team
including, but not limited to, the
state

team
'
s findings and recommendations.

Annual reports
shall
be made available to the public.

35
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1
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1
10
4.

Access to information.

(a)

Unless otherwise prohibited by law, u
pon request of the chairman of the
state

team
and as necessary to carry out the
state

team
'
s purpose and duties, the
state

team

shall be
provided:

(i)

B
y a provider of medical care, access to information and records regarding a child whose death
or major injury
is being reviewed by the
state

team
, including information on prenatal care;

(ii)

A
ccess to all information and records maintained by any
state
, county or local government agency including, but not limited to, birth certificates,
death certificates,
law enforcement investigation data, county coroner or medical examiner investigation data, parole and probation information and records and information and records of social services and health agencies that provided services to the child or family.

(b)

When necessary in the discharge of the duties of the
state

team
and upon application of the
team
, the circuit court shall issue a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum to any
state
, county or local agency, board or commission or to any representative of any
state
, county or local agency, board or commission or to a provider of medical care to compel the attendance of witnesses and production of documents, books, papers, correspondence, memoranda and other relevant records to the discharge of the
team
'
s
duties.

Failure to obey a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum issued pursuant to this section may be punished as contempt.

35
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1
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1
1
05.

Confidentiality of records and proceedings
.

(a)

Meetings of the
state

team
are closed to the public and are not subject to
W.S. 16
‑
4
‑
401 through 16
‑
4
‑
408
when the
state

team
is discussing individual cases of child
fatalities
or major injuries
.

(b
)

Exc
ept as provided in subsection (
a
)
of this section
, meetings of the
state

team
are open to the public and subject to
W.S. 16
‑
4
‑
401 through 16
‑
4
‑
408
when the
state

team
is not discussing individual cases of child
fatalities
or major injuries
.

(
c
)

Information identifying a deceased child
or child sustaining a major injury,
or a family member, guardian
or caretaker of a deceased child
or child sustaining a major injury
, or an alleged or suspected perpetrator of abuse or neglect upon a child
shall
not be disclosed during a public meeting and information regarding the involvement of any agency with the deceased child
or child sustaining a major injury
or
the
child
'
s
family
shall
not be disclosed during a public meeting.

(d
)

Nothing in this section
shall
be construed to prevent the
state

team
from requesting the attendance at a
team
meeting of a person who has information relevant to the
team
'
s
exercise of its purpose and duties.

(
e
)

Except as otherwise provided in this section, a
ll information and records acquired by
and compiled by
the
state

team
in the exercise of its purpose and duties pursuant to this article are confidential, exem
pt from disclosure under
the Wyoming Public Records Act

and may
only
be disclosed as necessary to carry out the
team
'
s
duties and purpose.

(f
)

Statistical compilations of data which do not contain information that would permit the identification of a person to be ascertained are public records.

(g
)

Reports of the
state

team
which do not contain information that would permit the identification of a person to be ascertained are public
records
.

(h
)

Except as necessary to carry out the
state

team
'
s purpose and duties, members of the
team
and persons attending the
team
meeting may not disclose what transpired at a meeting
or
information
disclosed at a meeting except as otherwise allowed under this section and
shall
sign a confidentiality agreement
at the opening of each meeting.

(
j
)

Members of the
state

team
, p
ersons attending a
team
meeting
and persons who present information to the
state

team

shall
not be required to disclose in any civil or criminal proceeding information presented in or opinions formed as a result of a meeting.

Nothing in this subsection
shall
be construed to prevent a person from testifying to information obtained independently of the
team
or which is public information.

(
k
)

Information, documents
and records of the
state

team
are not
subject to subpoena, discovery
or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding, exc
ept that information, documents
and records otherwise available from other sources are not immune from subpoena, discovery or introduction into evidence through those sources solely because they were presented during proceedings of the
team
or are maintained by the
team
.

(
m
)

Violation of this section is a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of
not more than five hundred dollars
($500.00),
imprison
ment
for not
more than
six
(6)
months, or both.

3
5
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1
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1
1
06.

Local c
hild
fatality and major injury review
teams
; creation; composition; duties; records confidential.

(a)

T
he
state

team
and local agenc
ies
shall encourage the creation of
local
child
fatality and major injury review

teams
within
each of the fifteen (15) judicial districts of the
state
.

The purposes of the
local review

teams
shall be to
review all cases involving a preventable child death or major injury to a child,
to advocate for improved services or procedures for children and to provide
case
information
and recommendations
to the
state

team
.

The

state

team

may
assist local
teams
in the
promulgat
ion of
reasonable rules and regulations to define the roles and procedures of
local review
teams
.

(b)

A
local
review
team
may
be composed of:

(i)

A member of the district
or prosecuting
attorney
'
s office;

(ii)

A designated representative from the school district or districts within the area served by the
team
;

(iii)

A representative from the local field office of the department of family services;

(iv)

A representative from the county government;

(v)

A representative from
each city and town in the judicial district
;

(vi)

A coroner or medical examiner;

(vii)

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

(viii)

A pediatrician or family practice physician;

(ix)

An emergency services provider;

(x)

A mental health provider;

(
x
i)

Representatives from other relevant professions;

(
x
ii)

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

(c)

A
local
review

team
may:

(i)

Assist and coordinate with the
state

team
, the local child protective agency and all available agencies and organizations dealing with children;

(ii)

Identify or develop community resources to serve and advocate for improved services and procedures for children;

(
iii
)

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

(
i
v)

Assist and make recommendations of appropriate services in individual cases brought to it by the
state

team
; and

(v)

Review all cases within the area served by the review team
involving a preventable child death or major injury to a child.

(
d
)

All records and proceedings of the
local review

teams
are
confidential and local
team
members and proceedings shall have the same protections provided to the
state

team
in
W.S.
3
5
‑
1
‑
1
1
05
and the same access to information as the state team in W.S. 35
‑
1
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1
1
04
.

Section
2
.

Th
is act is effective July 1, 2008
.

(END)

1
HB0167