HB 5657 Summary

• Replaces "shall" with "must" throughout Section 7b of the Child Protection Law for mandatory requirements and clarifications.

• Increases department representatives on the state advisory committee from two to four members and removes the requirement for two department of community health representatives.

• Removes reference to "the department of community health" from local health department representation requirements on child fatality review teams.

• Allows child fatality review teams to disclose cause of death information to a child's parent or legal guardian upon request, except for guardians imprisoned for child abuse or neglect that caused the child's death.

• Clarifies that information obtained by child fatality review teams is confidential and not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, with exceptions limited to specified entities and parent/guardian disclosure provisions.