AZ SB1235

Establishes the Child Safety Fatality and Near Fatality Review Team within the Department of Child Safety to review all reports of child fatalities and near fatalities made to the child abuse hotline.

Team shall consist of department employees and five appointed public members: a licensed pediatrician with child abuse experience, a peace officer with fatality investigation experience, a practicing social worker, a behavioral health practitioner, and an attorney with child abuse case representation experience.

Team must identify systemic trends influencing department decisions, recommend policy and practice changes, and produce an annual report including fatality/near fatality counts by county, substantiation rates, and systemic improvement areas.

Requires the team to respond to legislative committee requests for additional fatality or near fatality information within 90 days and present annual reports at public legislative committee meetings unless executive session is deemed necessary for privacy or safety.

Amends the joint legislative oversight committee on child safety to review systemic factors related to child maltreatment fatalities and near fatalities, analyze contributing factors across state agencies, and review recommendations from the fatality review team.