By Zaffirini S.B. No. 1485
74R7158 DLF-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the child fatality review team committee and child
1-3 fatality review teams.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 34, Family Code, is amended by adding
1-6 Subchapter E to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER E. CHILD FATALITY REVIEW
1-8 Sec. 34.701. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-9 (1) "Bureau of vital statistics" means the bureau of
1-10 vital statistics of the Texas Department of Health.
1-11 (2) "Child" means a person younger than 18 years of
1-12 age.
1-13 (3) "Committee" means the child fatality review team
1-14 committee.
1-15 (4) "Health care provider" means any health care
1-16 practitioner or facility that provides medical evaluation or
1-17 treatment, including dental and mental health evaluation or
1-18 treatment.
1-19 (5) "Meeting" means an in-person meeting or a meeting
1-20 held by telephone or other electronic medium.
1-21 (6) "Preventable death" means a death that may have
1-22 been prevented by reasonable medical, social, legal, psychological,
1-23 or educational intervention. The term includes the death of a
1-24 child from:
2-1 (A) intentional or unintentional injuries;
2-2 (B) medical neglect;
2-3 (C) lack of access to medical care;
2-4 (D) neglect and reckless conduct, including
2-5 failure to supervise and failure to seek medical care; and
2-6 (E) premature birth associated with any factor
2-7 described by Paragraphs (A)-(D).
2-8 (7) "Review" means a reexamination of information
2-9 regarding a deceased child from relevant agencies, professionals,
2-10 and health care providers.
2-11 (8) "Review team" means a child fatality review team
2-12 established under this subchapter.
2-13 (9) "Unexpected death" includes a death of a child
2-14 that, before investigation, appears:
2-15 (A) to have occurred without anticipation or
2-16 forewarning; and
2-17 (B) to have been caused by trauma, suspicious or
2-18 obscure circumstances, sudden infant death syndrome, child abuse or
2-19 neglect, or an unknown cause.
2-20 Sec. 34.702. COMMITTEE. (a) The child fatality review team
2-21 committee is a committee within the Department of Protective and
2-22 Regulatory Services. The committee is composed of:
2-23 (1) a person appointed by and representing the state
2-24 registrar for the bureau of vital statistics;
2-25 (2) a person appointed by and representing the
2-26 director of protective services for families and children of the
2-27 Department of Protective and Regulatory Services;
3-1 (3) a person appointed by and representing the
3-2 director of the bureau of epidemiology of the Texas Department of
3-3 Health;
3-4 (4) a person appointed by and representing the
3-5 director of the Children's Justice Act grant project of the
3-6 Department of Protective and Regulatory Services; and
3-7 (5) individuals selected under Subsections (b) and
3-8 (c).
3-9 (b) The members of the committee who serve under Subsections
3-10 (a)(1)-(4) shall select a county medical examiner or forensic
3-11 pathologist with expertise in infant and child death investigation
3-12 to serve on the committee.
3-13 (c) The members of the committee who serve under Subsections
3-14 (a)(1)-(4) and (b) shall select the following additional committee
3-15 members:
3-16 (1) a criminal prosecutor involved in prosecuting
3-17 crimes against children;
3-18 (2) a sheriff;
3-19 (3) a justice of the peace;
3-20 (4) a police chief;
3-21 (5) a pediatrician experienced in diagnosing and
3-22 treating child abuse and neglect;
3-23 (6) a child educator;
3-24 (7) a child mental health provider;
3-25 (8) a public health professional;
3-26 (9) a protective services specialist;
3-27 (10) a sudden infant death syndrome family service
4-1 provider;
4-2 (11) a neonatologist;
4-3 (12) a child advocate; and
4-4 (13) a chief juvenile probation officer.
4-5 (d) Members of the committee serve two-year terms that
4-6 expire on February 1 of each even-numbered year.
4-7 (e) Members selected under Subsections (b) and (c) must
4-8 reflect the geographical, cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity of
4-9 the state.
4-10 (f) An appointment to a vacancy on the committee shall be
4-11 made in the same manner as the original appointment.
4-12 (g) Members of the committee shall select a presiding
4-13 officer from the members of the committee.
4-14 (h) The committee shall meet at least quarterly.
4-15 (i) A member of the committee is not entitled to
4-16 compensation for serving on the committee but is entitled to
4-17 reimbursement for the member's travel expenses as provided in the
4-18 General Appropriations Act. Reimbursement under this section shall
4-19 be paid from funds appropriated to the council.
4-20 Sec. 34.703. PURPOSE AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEE. (a) The
4-21 purpose of the committee is to:
4-22 (1) develop an understanding of the incidence and
4-23 causes of child deaths in this state;
4-24 (2) identify procedures within the agencies
4-25 represented on the committee to reduce the number of preventable
4-26 child deaths; and
4-27 (3) promote public awareness and make recommendations
5-1 to the governor and the legislature for changes in law, policy, and
5-2 practice to reduce the number of preventable child deaths.
5-3 (b) To achieve its purpose, the committee shall:
5-4 (1) approve the creation and participation of review
5-5 teams;
5-6 (2) perform annual statistical studies of the
5-7 incidence and causes of child deaths using data submitted by review
5-8 teams to the bureau of vital statistics;
5-9 (3) review data reports from review teams;
5-10 (4) promote training to assist the review teams in
5-11 carrying out their duties;
5-12 (5) develop model protocols for:
5-13 (A) the reporting and investigating of child
5-14 deaths for law enforcement agencies, child protective services,
5-15 justices of the peace and medical examiners, and other
5-16 professionals involved in the investigations of child deaths;
5-17 (B) the collection of data regarding child
5-18 deaths; and
5-19 (C) the operation of the review teams;
5-20 (6) examine laws, rules, and policies relating to
5-21 access to information for agencies with responsibilities for
5-22 children, including health, public welfare, education, social
5-23 services, juvenile court, mental health, and law enforcement
5-24 agencies, determine whether those laws, rules, or policies impede
5-25 the necessary exchange of information, and develop and recommend
5-26 changes to those laws, rules, and policies;
5-27 (7) promote education of the public regarding the
6-1 incidence and causes of child deaths, the public role in preventing
6-2 child deaths, and specific steps the public can undertake to
6-3 prevent child deaths; and
6-4 (8) develop and implement procedures necessary for the
6-5 operation of the committee and review teams.
6-6 (c) The committee shall enlist the support and assistance of
6-7 civic, philanthropic, and public service organizations in the
6-8 performance of its duties under Subsection (b)(7).
6-9 (d) The committee shall coordinate data collection under
6-10 this subchapter with data collection by the Texas Department of
6-11 Health.
6-12 (e) The committee shall issue annual reports on the
6-13 committee's activities, including findings and recommendations
6-14 relating to each purpose and duty of the committee described by
6-15 this section. Not later than December 1 of each year, the
6-16 committee shall publish the report and submit a copy of the report
6-17 to the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
6-18 representatives.
6-19 Sec. 34.704. MEETINGS OF COMMITTEE. (a) Except as provided
6-20 by Subsections (b), (c), and (d), meetings of the committee are
6-21 subject to Chapter 551, Government Code, as if the committee were a
6-22 governmental body under that chapter.
6-23 (b) Any portion of a meeting of the committee during which
6-24 the committee discusses an individual child's death is closed to
6-25 the public and is not subject to Chapter 551, Government Code.
6-26 (c) Information identifying a deceased child, a member of
6-27 the child's family, a guardian or caretaker of the child, or an
7-1 alleged or suspected perpetrator of abuse or neglect of the child
7-2 may not be disclosed during a public meeting.
7-3 (d) Information regarding the involvement of a state or
7-4 local agency with the deceased child or another person described by
7-5 Subsection (c) may not be disclosed during a public meeting.
7-6 (e) The committee may conduct an open or closed meeting by
7-7 telephone conference call or other electronic medium. A meeting
7-8 held under this subsection is subject to the notice requirements
7-9 applicable to other meetings. The notice of the meeting must
7-10 specify as the location of the meeting the location where meetings
7-11 of the committee are usually held. Each part of the meeting by
7-12 telephone conference call that is required to be open to the public
7-13 shall be audible to the public at the location specified in the
7-14 notice of the meeting as the location of the meeting and shall be
7-15 tape-recorded. The tape recording shall be made available to the
7-16 public.
7-17 (f) This section does not prohibit the committee from
7-18 requesting the attendance at a closed meeting of a person who is
7-19 not a member of the committee and who has information regarding a
7-20 deceased child or regarding another person described by Subsection
7-21 (c).
7-22 Sec. 34.705. DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT. The department shall
7-23 provide staff as necessary to assist the committee in performing
7-24 its duties.
7-25 Sec. 34.706. ESTABLISHMENT OF REVIEW TEAM. (a) Subject to
7-26 the approval of the committee, a multidisciplinary and multiagency
7-27 child fatality review team may be established for a county with a
8-1 population of at least 50,000 to review child deaths in that
8-2 county. A review team for a county with a population of less than
8-3 50,000 may join with an adjacent county or counties to establish a
8-4 combined review team.
8-5 (b) Any person who may be a member of a review team under
8-6 Subsection (c) may initiate the establishment of a review team and
8-7 call the first organizational meeting of the team. On formation of
8-8 the review team, the review team shall request approval from the
8-9 committee.
8-10 (c) A review team shall include the following individuals or
8-11 their designees:
8-12 (1) a criminal prosecutor involved in prosecuting
8-13 crimes against children;
8-14 (2) a justice of the peace or medical examiner;
8-15 (3) a local child protective services agency;
8-16 (4) a local public health officer;
8-17 (5) a pediatrician or other qualified health care
8-18 provider; and
8-19 (6) the sheriff or a local police officer.
8-20 (d) Members of a review team may select additional team
8-21 members if needed.
8-22 (e) A review team shall select a presiding officer from its
8-23 members.
8-24 Sec. 34.707. PURPOSE AND DUTIES OF REVIEW TEAM. (a) The
8-25 purpose of a review team is to decrease the incidence of
8-26 preventable child deaths by:
8-27 (1) providing assistance, direction, and coordination
9-1 to investigations of child deaths;
9-2 (2) promoting cooperation, communication, and
9-3 coordination among agencies involved in responding to child deaths;
9-4 (3) developing an understanding of the incidence and
9-5 causes of child deaths in the county or counties in which the
9-6 review team is located;
9-7 (4) recommending changes to agencies, through the
9-8 agency's representative member, that will reduce the number of
9-9 preventable child deaths; and
9-10 (5) advising the committee on changes to law, policy,
9-11 or practice that will assist the team and the agencies represented
9-12 on the team in fulfilling their duties.
9-13 (b) To achieve its purpose, a review team shall:
9-14 (1) adapt and implement, according to local needs and
9-15 resources, the model protocols developed by the committee;
9-16 (2) meet on a regular basis to review child deaths and
9-17 recommend methods to improve coordination of services and
9-18 investigations between agencies that are represented on the team;
9-19 (3) collect and maintain data as required by the
9-20 committee; and
9-21 (4) submit to the bureau of vital statistics data
9-22 reports on deaths reviewed.
9-23 Sec. 34.708. DUTIES OF PRESIDING OFFICER. The presiding
9-24 officer of a review team shall:
9-25 (1) send notices to the review team members of a
9-26 meeting to review a child death;
9-27 (2) provide a list to the review team members of each
10-1 child death to be reviewed at the meeting;
10-2 (3) submit data reports to the bureau of vital
10-3 statistics not later than the 30th day after the date on which the
10-4 review took place; and
10-5 (4) ensure that the review team operates according to
10-6 the protocols developed by the committee, as adapted by the review
10-7 team.
10-8 Sec. 34.709. REVIEW PROCEDURE. (a) The review team of the
10-9 county in which the injury, illness, or event that was the cause of
10-10 the death of the child occurred, as stated on the child's death
10-11 certificate, shall review the death.
10-12 (b) On receipt of the list of child deaths under Section
10-13 34.708, each review team member shall review the member's records
10-14 and the records of the member's agency for information regarding
10-15 each listed child, members of the child's family, a guardian or
10-16 caretaker of the child, or an alleged or suspected perpetrator of
10-17 abuse or neglect of the child.
10-18 Sec. 34.710. ACCESS TO INFORMATION. (a) A review team may
10-19 request information and records regarding a deceased child and
10-20 members of the child's family, a guardian or caretaker of the
10-21 child, or an alleged or suspected perpetrator of abuse or neglect
10-22 of the child as necessary to carry out the review team's purpose
10-23 and duties. Records and information that may be requested under
10-24 this section include:
10-25 (1) medical, dental, and mental health care
10-26 information; and
10-27 (2) information and records maintained by any state or
11-1 local government agency, including:
11-2 (A) a birth certificate;
11-3 (B) law enforcement investigative data;
11-4 (C) medical examiner investigative data;
11-5 (D) juvenile court records;
11-6 (E) parole and probation information and
11-7 records; and
11-8 (F) child protective services information and
11-9 records.
11-10 (b) On request of the presiding officer of a review team,
11-11 the custodian of the relevant information and records shall provide
11-12 those records to the review team.
11-13 Sec. 34.711. MEETING OF REVIEW TEAM. (a) A meeting of a
11-14 review team is closed to the public and not subject to Chapter 551,
11-15 Government Code.
11-16 (b) This section does not prohibit a review team from
11-17 requesting the attendance at a closed meeting of a person who is
11-18 not a member of the review team and who has information regarding a
11-19 deceased child or members of the child's family, a guardian or
11-20 caretaker of the child, or an alleged or suspected perpetrator of
11-21 abuse or neglect of the child.
11-22 (c) Except as necessary to carry out a review team's purpose
11-23 and duties, members of a review team and persons attending a review
11-24 team meeting may not disclose what occurred at the meeting.
11-25 (d) A member of a review team participating in the review of
11-26 a child death is immune from civil or criminal liability arising
11-27 from information presented in or opinions formed as a result of a
12-1 meeting.
12-2 Sec. 34.712. USE OF INFORMATION AND RECORDS;
12-3 CONFIDENTIALITY. (a) Information and records acquired by the
12-4 committee or by a review team in the exercise of its purpose and
12-5 duties under this subchapter are confidential and exempt from
12-6 disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may only be
12-7 disclosed as necessary to carry out the committee's or review
12-8 team's purpose and duties.
12-9 (b) A report of the committee or of a review team or a
12-10 statistical compilation of data reports is a public record subject
12-11 to Chapter 552, Government Code, as if the committee or review team
12-12 were a governmental body under that chapter, if the report or
12-13 statistical compilation does not contain any information that would
12-14 permit the identification of an individual.
12-15 (c) A member of a review team may not disclose any
12-16 information that is confidential under this section.
12-17 (d) Information, documents, and records of the committee or
12-18 of a review team that are confidential under this section are not
12-19 subject to subpoena or discovery and may not be introduced into
12-20 evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding, except that
12-21 information, documents, and records otherwise available from other
12-22 sources are not immune from subpoena, discovery, or introduction
12-23 into evidence solely because they were presented during proceedings
12-24 of the committee or a review team or are maintained by the
12-25 committee or a review team.
12-26 SECTION 2. The heading of Chapter 34, Family Code, is
12-27 amended to read as follows:
13-1 CHAPTER 34. <REPORT OF> CHILD ABUSE AND CHILD FATALITIES
13-2 SECTION 3. (a) The director of the Department of Protective
13-3 and Regulatory Services shall call a meeting of the individuals to
13-4 serve on the child fatality review team committee under Sections
13-5 34.702(a)(1)-(4), Family Code, as added by this Act, to be held not
13-6 later than October 1, 1995. Those members of the committee shall
13-7 select the additional member to serve under Section 34.702(b),
13-8 Family Code, as added by this Act, not later than November 1, 1995.
13-9 The members of the committee that serve under Sections
13-10 34.702(a)(1)-(4) and 34.702(b), Family Code, as added by this Act,
13-11 shall select the additional members to serve under Section
13-12 34.702(c), Family Code, as added by this Act, not later than
13-13 December 1, 1995.
13-14 (b) The initial members of the committee are appointed to
13-15 serve terms expiring February 1, 1996.
13-16 (c) The first meeting of the child fatality review team
13-17 committee that includes members selected under Section 34.702(b),
13-18 Family Code, as added by this Act, shall be held not later than
13-19 January 1, 1996.
13-20 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
13-21 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
13-22 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
13-23 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
13-24 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
13-25 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
13-26 passage, and it is so enacted.