HB 1420 Summary

• Establishes a child fatality committee in each Indiana county to determine whether to create a county or regional child fatality review team and appoint team members.

• Creates the statewide child fatality review committee to identify trends in child deaths, develop prevention strategies, provide training to local teams, and submit annual reports to the legislature and governor by January 1.

• Requires the state department of health to employ a state child fatality review coordinator to assist both statewide and local child fatality review teams with forms, data collection tools, training, and technical support.

• Authorizes local and statewide child fatality review teams to review sudden, unexpected, unexplained child deaths and deaths from suspected abuse or neglect; requires teams to access relevant medical, law enforcement, and autopsy records.

• Repeals existing child fatality review provisions in IC 31-33-24 and IC 31-33-25 and relocates them to new article IC 16-49; takes effect July 1, 2013.