MI SB0257

Removes deadline for counties to establish child fatality review teams (previously January 1, 1999) and makes such teams optional rather than mandatory.

Allows two or more counties to jointly appoint a single child fatality review team and requires teams to include a medical examiner, law enforcement, department representative, prosecutor, and health department official.

Requires the Department to establish a multiagency advisory committee to identify policy recommendations on child fatalities and publish annual reports breaking down fatalities by county, cause, foster care status, and family reunification outcomes.

Creates a public-accessible statistical registry of children's deaths separate from the confidential central registry, containing anonymized data on foster care deaths, court jurisdiction cases, and child protective services involvement without identifying information.

Maintains confidentiality of information obtained by fatality review teams, restricting disclosure to the Department, children's ombudsman, prosecutors, law enforcement, and other review teams, while exempting such information from freedom of information requests.