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Senate · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB 383: Child Abuse; local child fatality review committees; modify the review

Last action July 1, 2026 · Effective Date

A Georgia Senate bill would overhaul how county child fatality review committees investigate child deaths, adding new members, extending reporting deadlines, and shifting the committees' focus from determining cause of death to preventing future deaths.

Read the full bill text

These buttons carry the bill's own text, not the summaries below. Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the text as filed, then the summaries under a heading that names them as ours. View raw is the text alone.

The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

Georgia law already requires each county to have a local committee that reviews certain child deaths, such as those from injury, abuse, or unexplained causes. This bill changes what those committees do and how they operate. Instead of determining the manner and cause of death and whether it was preventable, committees would instead focus on identifying opportunities for intervention and making recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future. The bill adds a local hospital or mental health representative and a local school system representative to each committee, and requires agencies to send a representative to annual training or face a contempt order from a judge. It broadens the sudden infant death category to include sudden unexplained infant death and sleep-related infant death. Coroners would get seven days instead of 48 hours to notify committee chairpersons of a child's death, and committees would get 90 days instead of 20 to finish their reports. Committees may also consult the Georgia Bureau of Investigation when it is unclear whether a death meets the criteria for review. Annual reports may now be published on a website instead of only in a legal newspaper.

What the bill does

  • Changes the purpose of local child fatality reviews from determining cause and manner of death to identifying opportunities for intervention and preventing future similar deaths.
  • Adds a local hospital or mental health representative and a local school system representative to each county review committee.
  • Requires agencies to send a representative to annual training, with a judge able to order compliance and hold agencies in contempt for failing to comply.
  • Broadens the sudden infant death category eligible for review to include sudden unexplained infant death and sleep related infant death.
  • Extends the coroner's notification deadline from 48 hours to seven days and the committee's report completion deadline from 20 days to 90 days.
  • Allows a review committee to consult the Georgia Bureau of Investigation when it is unclear whether a death meets the criteria for review, while keeping final determination with the committee.

Who it affects

County medical examiners and coroners, district attorneys, county departments of family and children services, local law enforcement and sheriffs, juvenile courts, public health departments, hospitals, mental health providers, school systems, superior court judges, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, all of whom participate in or interact with local child fatality review committees.

Why it matters

Families and communities affected by a child's death would see committees spend more time investigating (90 days instead of 20) and focus explicitly on preventing future deaths rather than only determining cause of death. New committee members, like school and hospital representatives, could bring different information into the review process, and required training attendance adds accountability for participating agencies.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 19-15-3 to shift the review committee's stated purpose from determining manner and cause of death to identifying intervention opportunities and prevention recommendations.
  • Section 1 adds a local hospital or mental health representative and a local school system representative to the list of required committee members.
  • Section 1 requires agency attendance at annual training and lets a superior court judge order compliance, with noncompliance punishable as contempt of court.
  • Section 1 broadens eligible sudden infant deaths to include sudden unexplained infant death and sleep related infant death, not just Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
  • Section 1 changes the coroner's notification deadline to the committee chairperson from 48 hours to seven days after receiving notice of a child's death.
  • Section 1 removes several older subsections describing a multi-step form review process between the coroner and chairperson, replacing them with a requirement that the committee convene every 30 days and may consult the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on unclear cases.
  • Section 1 extends the deadline for the committee to complete its death review report from 20 days to 90 days after its first meeting.
  • Section 1 allows annual committee reports to be published on a publicly available website in addition to the county's legal organ, and requires transmission of the annual report to the state panel by July 15.

From the bill

“identify opportunities for intervention and to make recommendations for measures to prevent future deaths in similar incidents.”

Redefines the core purpose of local child fatality review committees away from determining cause of death.

“Sudden death when an infant is in apparent good health, including sudden infant death syndrome, sudden unexplained infant death, and sleep related infant death”

Broadens the category of infant deaths eligible for review by local committees.

Discussed in meetings (12)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

  1. Senate Children and Families Committee, January 27, 2026

    From 0:32:51 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described SB 383 as a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agency bill updating child fatality review law. The sponsor said it would clarify the roles of review committees, medical examiners and coroners, update terminology and establish more practical reporting deadlines. A GBI representative said the bill would add hospital and school-system representatives to suggested local committee membership, require an agency representative to attend annual training, update descriptions of sudden infant deaths and remove references to an outdated reporting form. The representative said existing deadlines could leave complex investigations out of annual data because testing and record reviews were unfinished. The sponsor said the preliminary report deadline would change from 48 hours to seven days. Asked whether longer deadlines would delay families receiving a child's body or death certificate, the GBI representative said they would not, explaining that the changes concerned review reporting rather than those processes. The committee approved the bill unanimously.

  2. Senate Rules Committee, February 5, 2026

    From 0:07:26 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described SB 383 as a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agency bill that would update and clean up the child fatality review process. No questions were asked. The committee later unanimously approved placing the bill on the next day's calendar with three other measures.

  3. Senate floor session, February 6, 2026 (legislative day 14)

    From 1:13:58 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Third Read)

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described SB 383 as a Georgia Bureau of Investigation proposal to update child death review requirements. The sponsor said existing deadlines were unrealistic and were not being followed. The sponsor said the bill would add sudden unexplained infant death and sleep-related infant death to the conditions covered, adjust the meeting structure to make it easier for counties to comply, and extend a reporting deadline from 48 hours to seven days. No senators asked questions or spoke for or against the bill. The Senate passed it 48-0.

  4. House Judiciary Juvenile Committee, February 23, 2026

    From 0:25:35 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described a GBI-backed bill to clarify local child fatality review duties and emphasize preventing future deaths. The sponsor said it would add a school system representative, update infant-death terminology, require reviews every 30 days, extend preliminary reporting from 48 hours to seven days, and extend final reporting from 20 to 90 days because current deadlines were unrealistic. Asked about school participation, a GBI representative said a school board representative had participated in state-panel discussions and that flexible wording allowed counties to choose an appropriate school representative. A member questioned why a preliminary report needed seven days. The GBI representative said investigators might still be gathering medical records or other information after 48 hours and clarified that the change would not require delaying an autopsy. The sponsor said it would not delay death certificates or families’ arrangements. Asked about day care representation, the GBI representative said investigators gather relevant information and day care representatives can join reviews when needed. The presenters confirmed that these reviews concern prevention, not criminal charges. The committee approved the bill by voice vote, with no opposition heard.

  5. House Rules Committee, February 25, 2026

    From 0:34:45 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described SB 383 as a Georgia Bureau of Investigation request concerning child fatality reviews. The sponsor said it would clarify review committees' duties, update technology and terminology, and establish more realistic timelines to help identify preventable deaths and recommend ways to reduce future deaths. No questions or scheduling decision followed.

  6. House Rules Committee, March 17, 2026

    From 0:43:42 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2699

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed SB 383 on the next day's floor calendar under modified structure rules. The motion was seconded, and no opposition was voiced. There was no discussion of the bill's contents.

  7. House floor session, March 18, 2026 (legislative day 33)

    From 2:57:32 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2785

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The floor presenter described SB 383 as a GBI proposal to improve local reviews of child deaths and help prevent future deaths. The presenter said counties had inconsistent committee membership, uneven training and outdated procedures. According to the presenter, the bill would clarify membership, establish training standards, expand and clarify which cases are reviewed, and improve reporting timelines and procedures. The presenter said it would not create a new agency or impose new requirements on families and had broad stakeholder input and bipartisan Senate support. There were no questions. The House passed it, 165 to 0.

Status timeline

  1. 2026-07-01Effective Date
  2. 2026-05-06Act 421
  3. 2026-05-06Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
  4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
  5. 2026-03-18House Passed/Adopted (House)
  6. 2026-03-18House Third Readers (House)
  7. 2026-02-24House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
  8. 2026-02-10House Second Readers (House)
Show full history (15 actions)
  1. 2026-02-09House First Readers (House)
  2. 2026-02-06Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
  3. 2026-02-06Senate Third Read (Senate)
  4. 2026-01-29Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
  5. 2026-01-28Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
  6. 2026-01-13Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  7. 2026-01-12Senate Hopper (Senate)

Sponsors

  • Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-32)Primary sponsor
  • John Albers (R, SD-56)
  • Bo Hatchett (R, SD-50)
  • Randy Robertson (R, SD-29)
  • Kim Jackson (D, SD-41)
  • Nan Orrock (D, SD-36)
  • Timothy Bearden (R, SD-30)
  • Elena Parent (D, SD-44)
  • Sonya Halpern (D, SD-39)
  • Devan Seabaugh (R, HD-34)

Votes

  1. PassedSenate voteFebruary 6, 2026

    48 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 5 excused)

    PASSAGE: Senate Vote #523

  2. PassedHouse voteMarch 18, 2026

    165 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 8 excused)

    PASSAGE: House Vote #719

Topics

  • child abuse prevention
  • child fatality review
  • public health policy
  • local government committees
  • child welfare

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