BILL ANALYSIS
C.S.S.B. 1485
By: Zaffirini
Health and Human Services
04-19-95
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND
Almost 5,000 Texans 18 years of age or younger died in 1991, nearly
half of those being children under one year of age.
Although death certificates record a cause of death, often the
cause is characterized simply as an accident. In the absence of a
state coordinating system to investigate child fatalities, these
deaths are handled with varying levels of thoroughness; many are
not investigated at all.
Texas law does not require the routine reporting of all sudden and
unexpected child deaths to Child Protective Services (CPS) and to
law enforcement agencies. When deaths are reported, the lack of
specific training in child deaths often renders CPS workers and law
enforcement officials incapable of adequately investigating such
cases.
As a result of these conditions, child deaths resulting from
neglect and maltreatment can remain undetected.
PURPOSE
As proposed, C.S.S.B. 1485 creates the child fatality review team
committee and child fatality review teams to confront the problem
of child deaths in Texas.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or
agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 264, Family Code, as added by H.B. 655,
Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, by adding
Subchapter F, as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. CHILD FATALITY REVIEW
Sec. 264.501. DEFINITIONS. Defines "bureau of vital
statistics," "child," "committee," "council," "department,"
"health care provider," "meeting," "preventable death,"
"review," "review team," and "unexpected death."
Sec. 264.502. COMMITTEE. (a) Sets forth the composition of
the child fatality review team committee (committee).
(b) Sets forth additional committee members required to be
selected by the members of the committee who serve under
Subsections (a)(1) through (4).
(c) Requires members of the committee selected under
Subsection (b) to serve two-year terms that expire on
February 1 of each even-numbered year.
(d) Requires members selected under Subsection (b) to
reflect the geographical, cultural, racial, and ethnic
diversity of the state.
(e) Requires an appointment to a vacancy on the committee to
be made in the same manner as the original appointment.
(f) Requires members of the committee to select a presiding
officer from the members of the committee.
(g) Requires the presiding officer of the committee to call
the meetings of the committee, which shall be held at least
quarterly.
(i) Provides that a member of the committee is not entitled
to compensation for serving on the committee but is entitled
to reimbursement for travel expenses under the General
Appropriations Act. Requires reimbursement for a person
serving on the committee under Subsection (a)(1) or (3) to
be paid from funds appropriated to the Texas Department of
Health. Requires reimbursement for other persons serving on
the committee to be paid equally from funds appropriated to
the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services
(department) and funds appropriated to the council.
Sec. 264.503. PURPOSE AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEE AND SPECIFIED
STATE AGENCIES. (a) Declares the purpose of the committee to
be to develop an understanding of the incidence and causes of
child deaths in this state; identify procedures within the
agencies represented on the committee to reduce the number of
preventable child deaths; and promote public awareness and
make recommendations to the governor and the legislature for
changes in law, policy, and practice to reduce the number of
preventable child deaths.
(b) Requires the department, the council, and the Texas
Department of Health to perform the duties specified by this
section.
(c) Sets forth requirements for the department.
(d) Requires the council to promote education of the public
regarding the incidence and causes of child deaths, the
public role in preventing child deaths, and specific steps
the public can undertake to prevent child deaths. Requires
the committee to enlist the support and assistance of civic,
philanthropic, and public service organizations in the
performance of its duties imposed under this subsection.
(e) Requires the Texas Department of Health to collect and
coordinate the collection of data with other data collection
activities and perform annual statistical studies of the
incidence and causes of child fatalities using the data
collected.
(f) Requires the committee to issue annual reports on the
committee's activities, and to publish the report and submit
a copy to the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of
the house of representatives not later than December 1 of
each even-numbered year.
Sec. 264.504. MEETINGS OF COMMITTEE. (a) Subjects meetings
of the committee to the open meetings law, Chapter 351,
Government Code, as if the committee were a governmental body
under that chapter.
(b) Makes closed to the public and not subject to the open
meetings law any portion of a committee meeting during which
the committee discusses an individual child's death.
(c) Prohibits from being disclosed during a public meeting
any information that identifies a deceased child, member of
the child's family, a guardian or caretaker of the child, or
an alleged or suspected perpetrator of abuse or neglect of
the child.
(d) Prohibits information regarding the involvement of a
state or local agency with the deceased child or another
person described by Subsection (c) from being disclosed
during a public meeting.
(e) Authorizes the committee to conduct an open or closed
meeting by telephone conference call or other electronic
medium. Subjects a meeting under this subsection to the
notice requirements applicable to other meetings, and
requires the notice of the meeting to specify as the
location of the meeting the location where meetings of the
committee are usually held. Requires each part of the
meeting by telephone conference call that is required to be
open to the public to be audible to the public at the
location specified in the notice and to be tape-recorded and
made available to the public.
(f) Provides that this section does not prohibit the
committee from requesting the attendance at a closed meeting
of a person who is not a committee member and who has
information regarding a deceased child.
Sec. 264.505. ESTABLISHMENT OF REVIEW TEAM. (a) Authorizes
a multidisciplinary and multiagency child fatality review team
(review team) to be established for a county to review child
deaths in that county. Authorizes a review team for a county
with a population of less than 50,000 to join with an adjacent
county or counties to establish a combined review team.
(b) Authorizes any person who may be a member of a review
team under Subsection (c) to initiate the establishment of
a review team and call the first organizational meeting of
the team.
(c) Sets forth individuals and designees a review team may
include.
(d) Authorizes members of a review team to select additional
team members according to community resources and needs.
(e) Requires a review team to select a presiding officer
from its members.
Sec. 264.506. PURPOSE AND DUTIES OF REVIEW TEAM. (a)
Declares the purpose of a review team to be to decrease the
incidence of preventable child deaths by providing assistance,
direction, and coordination to investigations of child deaths;
promoting cooperation, communication, and coordination among
agencies involved in responding to child fatalities;
developing an understanding of the causes and incidence of
child deaths in the counties where the review teams are
located; recommending changes to agencies that will reduce the
number of preventable child deaths; and advising the committee
on changes to law, policy, or practice that will assist the
team and represented agencies.
(b) Requires a review team, in order to achieve its purpose,
to adapt and implement the committee's model protocols; meet
regularly to review child fatality cases and recommend
methods to improve coordination of services and
investigations between agencies that are represented on the
team; collect and maintain data as required by the
committee; and submit to the bureau of vital statistics data
reports on deaths reviewed as specified by the committee.
(c) Requires a review team to initiate prevention measures
as indicated by the review team's findings.
Sec. 264.507. DUTIES OF PRESIDING OFFICER. Requires the
presiding officer to notify team members of a meeting to
review a child fatality; provide a list to review team members
of each child fatality to be reviewed at a meeting; submit
data reports to the bureau of vital statistics; and ensure
that the review team operates according to the adapted
protocols.
Sec. 264.508. REVIEW PROCEDURE. (a) Requires the review team
of the county in which the injury, illness, or event that was
the cause of a child's death occurred, as stated on the death
certificate, to review the death.
(b) Requires each review team member, on receipt of the list
of child deaths under Section 264.507, to review the
member's records and the records of the member's agency for
information regarding each listed child.
Sec. 264.509. ACCESS TO INFORMATION. (a) Authorizes a review
team to request information and records regarding a deceased
child as necessary to carry out the review team's purpose and
duties. Sets forth records and information that may be
requested.
(b) Requires the custodian of the relevant information and
records relating to a deceased child, on request of the
presiding officer of a review team, to provide those records
to the review team.
Sec. 264.510. MEETING OF REVIEW TEAM. (a) Provides that a
meeting of a review team is closed to the public and is not
subject to the open meetings law, Chapter 551, Government
Code.
(b) Provides that this section does not prohibit a review
team from requesting the attendance at a closed meeting of
a person who is not a member of the review team and who has
information regarding a deceased child.
(c) Prohibits members of a review team and persons attending
a review team meeting from disclosing what occurred at the
meeting, except as necessary to carry out a review team's
purpose and duties.
(d) Makes a member of a review team participating in the
review of a child death immune from civil or criminal
liability arising from information presented on or opinions
formed as a result of a meeting.
Sec. 264.511. USE OF INFORMATION AND RECORDS;
CONFIDENTIALITY. (a) Provides that information and records
acquired by the committee or a review team in the exercise of
its purpose and duties under this subchapter are confidential
and exempt from disclosure under the open records law, Chapter
552, Government Code, and may only be disclosed as necessary
to carry out the committee's or review team's purpose and
duties.
(b) Provides that a report of the committee or review team,
or a statistical compilation of data reports is a public
record subject to the open records law, Chapter 552,
Government Code, as if the committee or review team were a
governmental body under that chapter, unless the report or
statistical compilation contains any information that would
permit the identification of an individual.
(c) Prohibits a member of a review team from disclosing any
information that is confidential under this section.
(d) Provides that information, documents, and records of the
committee or a review team are confidential under this
section and are not subject to subpoena or discovery, and
prohibits their introduction into evidence in any civil or
criminal proceeding. Provides a specific exception.
Sec. 264.512. GOVERNMENTAL UNITS. Provides that the
committee and a review team are governmental units for
purposes of Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
Provides that a review team is a unit of local government
under that chapter.
SECTION 2. (a) Requires the executive directors of the Children's
Trust Fund of Texas Council and the department to jointly call a
meeting of the individuals to serve on the child fatality review
team committee under Subdivisions (1) through (4), Subsection (a),
Section 264.502, Family Code, to be held not later than October 1,
1995. Requires those committee members to select the additional
members to serve under Section 264.502(b), Family Code, not later
than December 1, 1995.
(b) Provides that the initial members of the committee are
appointed to serve terms expiring February 1, 1996.
(c) Requires the first meeting of the child fatality review
team committee that includes members selected under Section
264.502(b), Family Code, to be held not later than January 1,
1996.
SECTION 3. Provides that this Act takes effect only if the 74th
Legislature, at its regular session, enacts H.B. 655 and that bill
becomes law. Provides that if that legislation does not become law,
this Act has no effect.
SECTION 4. Effective date: September 1, 1995.
SECTION 5. Emergency clause.