Wis. Stat. § 250.22 — WI Code / Chapter 250 / Section 250.22
Fatality review teams.
Status: in_force

(1) Definitions. In this section:

(a) “Fatality review team” means a multidisciplinary and multiagency team examining one or more types of reviewable death among children or adults and developing recommendations to prevent future deaths of similar circumstances.

(b) “Local fatality review team” means a fatality review team that examines reviewable deaths from specific municipalities or counties. A “local fatality review team” may include a team formed by a collaboration of 2 or more municipalities, counties, local health departments, or tribal health departments.

(c) “Municipality” means a city, village, or town.

(d)

1. “Reviewable death” includes any of the following types of deaths:

a. Suicide.

b. Homicide or death involving domestic violence, intimate partner violence, or homicide related to community violence.

c. Motor vehicle incident.

d. Overdose death.

e. Child abuse or neglect.

f. Stillbirth.

g. Fetal death or infant death.

h. A maternal death occurring during or within a year of a pregnancy.

i. Any unexpected or unintentional death of a child.

2. “Reviewable death” does not include a death subject to review under s. 175.47 .

(2) Fatality review teams; purpose, duties, membership, and record access.

(a) Fatality review teams shall have the purpose of gathering information concerning reviewable deaths to examine the risk factors and circumstances leading to reviewable deaths and understand how the deaths could have been prevented through all of the following:

1. Identification of recommendations for cross-sector, system-level policy and practice changes to address the identified risk factors and prevent future reviewable deaths.

2. Promotion of cooperation and coordination among agencies involved in understanding the causes of reviewable deaths or in providing services to surviving family members.

(b)

1. If established, each fatality review team shall do all of the following:

a. Establish and implement a protocol for the fatality review team.

b. Collect and maintain data appropriate to the type of review undertaken.

c. Create strategies and make and track the implementation of recommendations for the prevention and reduction of reviewable deaths in the area served by the fatality review team.

d. Evaluate the fatality review team’s review process, interagency collaboration, and development and implementation of recommendations to ensure adherence to the purpose described in par. (a) .

2. A fatality review team may address a reviewable death that occurred in the area served by the fatality review team or that relates to a resident of the area served by the fatality review team if the incident or death occurred elsewhere in the state.

(c) When conducting a fatality review under this section, a fatality review team may be provided with information from the records held by any of the following, if the records pertain to a person or incident within the scope of the review:

1. The department or a local health department.

2. The department of children and families.

3. A law enforcement agency.

4. A medical examiner or coroner.

5. A treatment provider for substance use or mental health.

6. A hospital or health care provider.

7. Emergency medical services, including a fire department.

8. A Women, Infants, and Children program under s. 253.06 .

9. The department of corrections.

10. A district attorney’s office.

11. A circuit or municipal court.

12. A social or human services agency.

13. Service providers or advocates that provide support in response to violence, including domestic abuse.

14. Child protective services or a child welfare agency.

15. A school or university.

16. If the fatality review team is an overdose fatality review team, a suicide review team, or a maternal mortality review team, prescription drug monitoring program records.

17. Any other agency or organization identified as necessary for the review by a specific fatality review team.

(d) If established, the members of a fatality review team may include any of the following types of individuals, organizations, agencies, and areas of expertise:

1. Public health.

2. Tribal health centers.

3. Medical examiners and coroners.

4. Funeral directors.

5. Law enforcement.

6. The district attorney with jurisdiction, or his or her designee.

7. Medical professionals, including physicians, physician assistants, and nurses.

8. Emergency medical responders, as defined in s. 256.01 (4p) , or emergency medical services practitioners, as defined in s. 256.01 (5) .

9. Behavioral health professionals.

10. Service providers or advocates that provide support in response to violence, including domestic abuse.

11. Individuals with relevant personal experience.

12. Education professionals, including school counselors and school representatives.

13. Child protective services or child welfare agency.