Mich. Comp. Laws § 722.627b — MI Code / Chapter 722 / Act Act-238-of-1975 / Section 722.627b
Child fatality review team; membership; review of child fatality; training and orientation; creation of advisory committee; review by citizen review panel; annual report; transmission of report to governor and legislature; disclosure of information; member of review team as member for purposes of MCL 691.1407; registry of statistical information regarding children's deaths.
Status: in_force

Sec. 7b.

(1) Each county may have in place a standing child fatality review team. Two or more counties may appoint a single child fatality review team for those counties. The membership of a child fatality review team shall consist of at least all of the following:

(a) A county medical examiner or deputy county medical examiner appointed under 1953 PA 181, MCL 52.201 to 52.216.

(b) A representative of a local law enforcement agency.

(c) A representative of the department.

(d) The county prosecuting attorney or a designated assistant county prosecutor.

(e) A representative of the department of health and human services or a local health department.

(f) A representative of the local court.

(2) A child fatality review team established under subsection (1) shall review each child fatality occurring in the county or counties that established the child fatality review team.

(3) The department shall make available to each child fatality review team established under subsection (1) professional, interagency training and orientation on the review of child fatalities. The department shall make available, as necessary, training on specific types of child fatalities, investigation techniques, and prevention initiatives.

(4) The department shall establish a multiagency, multidisciplinary advisory committee to identify and make recommendations on policy and statutory changes pertaining to child fatalities and to guide statewide prevention, education, and training efforts.

(5) The advisory committee created under subsection (4) consists of the following:

(a) Two representatives of the department.

(b) Two representatives of the department of health and human services.

(c) One county medical examiner.

(d) One representative of law enforcement.

(e) One county prosecuting attorney.

(f) The child advocate or his or her designee.

(g) A representative of a state or local court.

(6) The citizen review panel shall review each child fatality that involves allegations of child abuse or child neglect for each child who, at the time of death or within the 12 months preceding the death, was under the court's jurisdiction under section 2(b) of chapter XIIA of the probate code of 1939, 1939 PA 288, MCL 712A.2.

(7) Beginning December 31, 2012, and using the annual compilation of child fatalities reported by the state registrar under part 28 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.2801 to 333.2899, and data received from the child fatality review teams established under subsection (1) and the citizen review panel established under subsection (6), the advisory committee established under subsection (4) shall author an annual report on child fatalities reviewed during the previous calendar year. The advisory committee shall include in the report, at a minimum, all of the following:

(a) The total number of child fatalities and the type or cause of each child fatality.

(b) The number of child fatalities that occurred while the child was in foster care.

(c) The number of cases where the child's death occurred within 5 years after family preservation or family reunification.

(d) Trends in child fatalities.

(8) The advisory committee established under subsection (4) shall break down the information required under subsection (7) by county or by groups of counties as described in subsection (1). The information contained in the report is public information. The advisory committee shall not include identifying information of persons named in the report. The advisory committee shall transmit the final report under subsection (7) to the department by December 31 of each year. Not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days after transmitting the report to the department, the department shall ensure publication of the report and transmit a copy to the governor and to the standing committees of the legislature with jurisdiction over matters pertaining to child protection.

(9) Except as provided in subsection (11), information obtained by a child fatality review team established under subsection (1) is confidential and may be disclosed by the child fatality review team only to the department, the child advocate, the county prosecutor's office, local law enforcement, or another child fatality review team. The information is not subject to the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246.

(10) An individual who is a member of a child fatality review team established under subsection (1) or of the advisory committee established under subsection (4) is a member of a board, council, commission, or statutorily created task force of a governmental agency for the purposes of section 7 of 1964 PA 170, MCL 691.1407.

(11) The department shall establish and maintain a registry of statistical information regarding children's deaths that shall be accessible to the public. The registry created in this section shall not disclose any identifying information and shall only include statistical information covering all of the following:

(a) The number of children who died while under court jurisdiction for child abuse or neglect regardless of placement setting.

(b) The number of children who died as a result of child abuse or neglect after a parent had 1 or more child protective services complaints within the 2 years preceding the child's death and the category dispositions of those complaints.

(c) The total number of children as identified in subdivisions (a) and (b) who died in the preceding year.

(d) The child protective services disposition of the child fatality.

History: Add. 1997, Act 167, Eff. Mar. 31, 1998; Am. 2011, Act 68, Imd. Eff. June 28, 2011; Am. 2011, Act 69, Imd. Eff. June 28, 2011; Am. 2011, Act 89, Imd. Eff. July 15, 2011; Am. 2023, Act 305, Eff. Feb. 13, 2024