Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 15 - Children and Family Services › Rule 016.15.13-008 - POLICY IX-B (AND RELATED PROCEDURES): Child Near Fatality and Fatality; POLICY IX-C: Incident Reporting; CFS-307: Child Fatality Disclosure Case Briefing Summary; CFS-329: Child Death Notification

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
Although an infrequent occurrence, near
				fatalities and fatalities of children who are receiving services or who have
				recently received services from the Division do occur. Fatalities may occur due
				to an illness or other medical condition, as a result of child neglect or
				abuse, or because of a non-child maltreatment related. accident. Regardless of
				the cause of a near fatality or fatality, these events are extremely traumatic
				for the family of the child, the foster family (if applicable), Division staff,
				and service providers. Division staff will be supportive and helpful to those
				who have had a meaningful and/or legal relationship with the child including
				relatives and foster parents. Division management and leadership will recognize
				the importance of appropriately supporting staff who worked directly with the
				child and encourage those staff members ,to seek appropriate, individualized
				services as needed.
Pursuant to A.C.A. §
										12-18-103 a near fatality (also
				referred to in DHS Policy 1090 as a serious injury) means an act that, as
				certified by a physician, places a child in serious or critical condition. As
				such, the Division will rely on the involved medical facility's designation of
				the child's condition in determining if a particular incident meets the
				criteria of near fatality as defined by law.
The Division of Children and Family Services County
				Office will immediately (within one hour) notify the appropriate Area Director
or designee
and the Assistant Director of Community
				Services
or designee
and initiate action to ensure the
				safety of other children in the home when DCFS becomes aware of a child
near fatality
or
fatality
				that may be the result of maltreatment and:
A.
The child or sibling of
			 the child was a subject of a pending child maltreatment investigation or a
			 child maltreatment investigation within the preceding 12
			 months.
B.
The child or sibling of the child is a client in any open
			 supportive or protective services or out-of-home
			 case.
C.
The child or sibling of the child was a client in a supportive,
			 protective services, or out-of-home case during the previous 12
			 months.
The Assistant Director of Community Services will
				immediately (within one hour) notify the Division Director who will notify the
				DHS Deputy Director and the
DHS Director of
				Communications
.
As such,
t
he Division will not automatically issue press
				releases on cases of child
near
fatality
or
fatality
related to
				maltreatment
but will respond to requests for information as they
				are received
in consultation with the DHS Director of
				Communications.
The county office will also immediately
				(within one hour) notify the appropriate Area Director or designee .and the
				Assistant Director of Community Services or designee of any near fatalities and
				fatalities involving children with open investigations or any type of active
				case even if the cause of the near fatality or fatality is not related to
				maltreatment or suspected maltreatment. The Division will not automatically
				issue press releases on cases of child near fatality or fatality unrelated to
				child maltreatment but will respond to requests for information as they are
				received in consultation with the DHS Director of
				Communications.
The Division will ensure that DHS Policy
				1090 adhered to regarding all near fatalities and
				fatalities.
The Division will
respectfully
assist
and support
the parents in making funeral
				arrangements or take other *
actions deemed necessary by the Area
				Director.
Because quality improvement and
				accountability guides the work of DCFS, an internal team of DCFS staff will
				meet following a child fatality related to child maltreatment to review the
				case and identify where practice could have been improved in that particular
				case in an effort to prevent future child fatalities and near fatalities.
				Information regarding child fatalities will also be entered into the National
				Child Death Review Case Reporting System (NCDRCRS). Any child fatality meeting
				the criteria for an external review based on the information entered into the
				NCDRCRS. will be reviewed by the Arkansas Child Death Review Panel. These
				external reviews will provide the, Division and other stakeholders involved
				with, child serving systems with an additional opportunity to collaboratively
				review the facts surrounding the fatality, and determine recommendations to
				improve practice and work together as a system to prevent future child
				fatalities and near fatalities.
*
PROCEDURE IX-B
1
: Near Fatality
of Child
*
0
8
/20
13
In the case of a
child
near-fatality
				the county
office
will
:
A.
.Report maltreatment or any suspected maltreatment to the Child
			 Abuse Hotline
			 immediately.,
*
B.
I
mmediately
			 (within 24 hours or as required by the Director) prepare
CFS-305:
			 Near Fatality Disclosure Case Briefing Summary,
on the situation
			 that caused the near
_;
fatality and
fax or
			 email
it to the
CPS Manager
who will
			 forward it to the following entities:
1)
Appropriate Area Director
*
2)
.Office of Community
			 Services
3)
.Quality Assurance
			 Unit,