SB383: SB383 Child Abuse; local child fatality review committees; modify the review

26 LC 63 0021 Senate Bill 383 By: Senators Kirkpatrick of the 32nd, Albers of the 56th, Hatchett of the 50th, Robertson of the 29th, Jackson of the 41st and others AS PASSED A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 15 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to child1 abuse, so as to modify the review to be performed by local child fatality review committees;2 to add members to such committees; to provide for required atte ndance for training; to3 clarify the scope of child deaths subject to review; to modify deadlines and requirements for4 reports relating to child deaths; to modify the procedures of the coroner or medical examiner5 and the review committee in identifying child deaths that meet the statutory criteria for6 review by the review committee; to make conforming changes; to provide for related matters;7 to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9 SECTION 1.10 Chapter 15 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to child abuse, is11 amended by revising Code Section 19-15-3, relating to county re view committee,12 chairperson, eligible deaths for review, notification to coroner, reporting to chairperson, and13 committee review, as follows:14 S. B. 383 - 1 - 26 LC 63 0021 "19-15-3.15 (a)(1) Each county shall establish a local review committee as provided in this Code16 section. The review committee shall be charged with reviewing all deaths as set forth in17 subsection (e) of this Code section to determine manner and cau se of death and if the18 death was preventable identify opportunities for intervention and to make19 recommendations for measures to prevent future deaths in similar incidents. The chief20 superior court judge of the circuit in which the county is located shall establish a review21 committee composed of, but not limited to, the following members:22 (A) The county medical examiner or coroner;23 (B) The district attorney or his or her designee;24 (C) A county department of family and children services representative;25 (D) A local law enforcement representative;26 (E) The sheriff or county police chief or his or her designee;27 (F) A juvenile court representative;28 (G) A county public health department representative; and29 (H) A county mental health representative or local hospital representative; and30 (I) A local school system representative.31 (2) The district attorney or his or her designee shall serve as the chairperson to preside32 over all meetings.33 (b) Review committee members shall recommend whether to establish a review committee34 for that county alone or establish a review committee with and for the counties within that35 judicial circuit.36 (c) The chief superior court judge shall appoint persons to fill any vacancies on the review37 committee should the membership fail to do so.38 (d) If any designated agency fails to carry out its duties rel ating to participation on the39 review committee, including attendance of an agency representative at annual training, the40 chief superior court judge of the circuit or any superior court judge who is a member of the41 S. B. 383 - 2 - 26 LC 63 0021 panel shall issue an order requiring the participation of such agency. Failure to comply42 with such order shall be cause for punishment as for contempt of court.43 (e) Deaths eligible for review by review committees are all deaths of children ages birth44 through 17 as a result of:45 (1) Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Sudden death when an infant is in apparent good46 health, including sudden infant death syndrome, sudden unexplai ned infant death, and47 sleep related infant death;48 (2) Any unexpected or unexplained conditions;49 (3) Unintentional injuries;50 (4) Intentional injuries;51 (5) Sudden death when the child is in apparent good health;52 (6) Any manner that is suspicious or unusual;53 (7) Medical conditions when unattended by a physician. For th e purpose of this54 paragraph, no person shall be deemed to have died unattended when the death occurred55 while the person was a patient of a hospice licensed under Arti cle 9 of Chapter 7 of56 Title 31;57 (8) Serving as an inmate of a state hospital or a state, county, or city penal institution; or58 (9) Child abuse.59 (f) It shall be the duty of any law enforcement officer, medical personnel, or other person60 having knowledge of the death of a child to immediately notify the coroner or medical61 examiner of the county wherein the body is found or death occurs.62 (g) If the death of a child occurs outside the child's county of residence, it shall be the duty63 of the medical examiner or coroner in the county where the child died to notify the medical64 examiner or coroner in the county of the child's residence. It shall be the duty of such65 medical examiner or coroner to provide the protocol committee o f the county of such66 child's residence with copies of all information and reports required by subsections (i) and67 (j) of this Code section.68 S. B. 383 - 3 - 26 LC 63 0021 (h) When a county medical examiner or coroner receives a report regarding the death of69 any child, he or she shall within 48 hours of the death notify seven days of receiving notice70 of the child's death send notification and a preliminary report containing all available71 information to the chairperson of the review committee for the county or circuit in which72 such child resided at the time of death.73 (i) The coroner or county medical examiner shall review the findings regarding the cause74 and manner of death for each child death report received and respond as follows:75 (1) If the death does not meet the criteria for review pursuan t to subsection (e) of this76 Code section, the coroner or county medical examiner shall sign the form designated by77 the panel stating that the death does not meet the criteria for review. He or she shall78 forward the form and findings, within seven days of the child's death, to the chairperson79 of the review committee for the county or circuit of the child's residence; or80 (2) If the death meets the criteria for review pursuant to sub section (e) of this Code81 section, the coroner or county medical examiner shall complete and sign the form82 designated by the panel stating the death meets the criteria fo r review. He or she shall83 forward the form and findings, within seven days of the child's death, to the chairperson84 of the review committee for the county or circuit of the child's residence.85 (j) When the chairperson of a review committee receives a repo rt from the coroner or86 medical examiner regarding the death of a child, such chairperson shall review the report87 and findings regarding the cause and manner of the child's death and respond as follows:88 (1) If the report indicates the child's death does not meet the criteria for review and the89 chairperson agrees with this decision, the chairperson shall sign the form designated by90 the panel stating that the death does not meet the criteria for review. He or she shall91 forward the form and findings to the panel within seven days of receipt;92 (2) If the report indicates the child's death does not meet the criteria for review and the93 chairperson disagrees with this decision, the chairperson shall follow the procedures for94 deaths to be reviewed pursuant to subsection (k) of this Code section;95 S. B. 383 - 4 - 26 LC 63 0021 (3) If the report indicates the child's death meets the criter ia for review and the96 chairperson disagrees with this decision, the chairperson shall sign the form designated97 by the panel stating that the death does not meet the criteria for review. The chairperson98 shall also attach an explanation for this decision; or99 (4) If the report indicates the child's death meets the criter ia for review and the100 chairperson agrees with this decision, the chairperson shall fo llow the procedures for101 deaths to be reviewed pursuant to subsection (k) of this Code section.102 (k)(i) When a child's death meets the criteria for review, the chairperson shall convene the103 review committee within 30 days after receipt of the report for a meeting to review and104 investigate the cause and circumstances of the death. The chairperson shall convene the105 review committee every 30 days to review reports received pursuant to subsection (h) of106 this Code section and investigate the circumstances of all such child deaths which meet the107 criteria for review under subsection (e) of this Code section. If it is unclear to the review108 committee whether a case meets the criteria under subsection (e) of this Code section, the109 review committee may request consultation from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for110 clarification and guidance in the use of such criteria; provide d, however, that the final111 determination as to whether a case meets such criteria shall be made by the review112 committee. Review committee members shall provide information as specifi ed in this113 subsection, except where otherwise protected by law:114 (1) The providers of medical care and the medical examiner or coroner shall provide115 pertinent health and medical information regarding a child whose death is being reviewed116 by the review committee;117 (2) State, county, or local government agencies shall provide all of the following data on118 forms designated by the panel for reporting child fatalities:119 (A) Birth information for children who died at less than one y ear of age, including120 confidential information collected for medical and health use;121 (B) Death information for children who have not reached their eighteenth birthday;122 S. B. 383 - 5 - 26 LC 63 0021 (C) Law enforcement investigative data, medical examiner or co roner investigative123 data, and parole and probation information and records;124 (D) Medical care, including dental, mental, and prenatal health care healthcare; and125 (E) Pertinent information from any social services agency that provided services to the126 child or family; and127 (3) The review committee may obtain from any superior court ju dge of the county or128 circuit for which the review committee was created a subpoena to compel the production129 of documents or attendance of witnesses when that judge has mad e a finding that such130 documents or witnesses are necessary for the review committee's review. Service of,131 objection to, and enforcement of subpoenas authorized by this C ode section shall be132 governed by the procedures set forth in Chapter 13 of Title 24. However, this Code133 section shall not modify or impair the privileged communication s as provided by law134 except as otherwise provided in Code Section 19-7-5.135 (4) Disclosure of protected health information pursuant to thi s subsection shall be136 considered to be for a law enforcement purpose, and the review committee shall be137 considered to be a law enforcement official within the meaning of the rules and138 regulations adopted pursuant to the federal Health Insurance Po rtability and139 Accountability Act of 1996. Disclosure of confidential or privileged matter to the review140 committee pursuant to this Code section shall not serve to destroy or in any way abridge141 the confidential or privileged character thereof, except for th e purpose for which such142 disclosure is made.143 (l)(j) The review committee shall complete its review and prepare a report of the child's144 death within 20 90 days, weekends and holidays excluded, following the first meeting held145 after receipt of the county medical examiner or coroner's report. The review committee's146 report shall:147 (1) State the circumstances leading up to death and cause of death identify opportunities148 for intervention and prevention;149 S. B. 383 - 6 - 26 LC 63 0021 (2) Detail any agency involvement prior to death, including th e beginning and ending150 dates and kinds of services delivered, the reasons for initial agency activity, and the151 reasons for any termination of agency activities;152 (3) State whether any agency services had been delivered to the family or child prior to153 the circumstances leading to the child's death;154 (4) State whether court intervention had ever been sought;155 (5) State whether there have been any acts or reports of violence between past or present156 spouses, persons who are parents of the same child, parents and children, stepparents and157 stepchildren, foster parents and foster children, or other persons living or formerly living158 in the same household;159 (6) Conclude whether services or agency activities delivered p rior to death were160 appropriate and whether the child's death could have been prevented;161 (7) Make recommendations for possible prevention of interventions that may prevent162 future deaths of similar incidents for children who are at risk for such deaths; and163 (8) Include other findings as requested by the panel.164 (m) The review committee shall transmit a copy of its report within 15 days of completion165 to the panel.166 (n)(k) The review committee shall transmit a copy of its report within 15 days following167 its completion to the district attorney of the county or circui t for which the review168 committee was created if the report concluded that the child named therein died as a result169 of:170 (1) Sudden death when an infant is in apparent good health, in cluding sudden infant171 death syndrome, sudden unexplained infant death, and sleep related infant death, Sudden172 Infant Death Syndrome when no autopsy was performed to confirm the diagnosis;173 (2) Accidental death when it appears that the death could have been prevented through174 intervention or supervision;175 (3) Any sexually transmitted disease;176 S. B. 383 - 7 - 26 LC 63 0021 (4) Medical causes which could have been prevented through intervention by an agency177 or by seeking medical treatment;178 (5) Suicide of a child in custody or known to the Department of Human Services or when179 the finding of suicide is suspicious;180 (6) Suspected or confirmed child abuse;181 (7) Trauma to the head or body; or182 (8) Homicide.183 (o)(l)(1) Each review committee shall issue an annual report no later than the first day184 of July July 1 each year. The report shall:185 (1)(A) Specify the numbers of reports received by such review commit tee from a186 county medical examiner or coroner pursuant to subsection (h) of this Code section for187 the preceding calendar year;188 (2)(B) Specify the number of reports of child fatality reviews prepared by the review189 committee during such period; and190 (3)(C) Be published at least once annually in the legal organ of the county or counties191 for which the review committee was established or a publicly av ailable website with192 the expense of such publication paid each by such county; and193 (4) Be transmitted, no later than the fifteenth day of July each year, to the panel.194 (2) Each review committee shall transmit a copy of its annual report to the panel no later195 than July 15 each year."196 SECTION 2.197 Said chapter is further amended by revising subsection (k) of Code Section 19-15-4, relating198 to Georgia Fatality Review Panel, as follows:199 "(k) The panel shall have the authority to obtain from any supe rior court judge of the200 county or circuit for which the matter is pending a subpoena to compel the production of201 documents or attendance of witnesses if the county multiagency child fatality review202 S. B. 383 - 8 - 26 LC 63 0021 committee has not exercised its authority to subpoena the docum ents or witnesses as203 provided in paragraph (3) of subsection (k)(i) of Code Section 19-15-3; provided, however,204 that, if a superior court judge has previously ruled that the record s or witnesses are not205 necessary to the fatality review at issue, such finding shall be conclusive on the issuance206 of the subpoena."207 SECTION 3.208 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.209 S. B. 383 - 9 -