The Indiana State and the Marion County Child Fatality Review Teams are charged with reviewing the deaths due to abuse or neglect of children ages 18 and under.  The purposes of both teams are to understand why and how children are dying in Indiana, so that we may work to prevent these tragic events from repeating.

The establishment of child fatality review teams is required by Indiana legislation.  To view the code in its entirety, select the link on the left.

Through the examination of hundreds of child deaths, each team has compiled an annual report which makes specific recommendations to policymakers, professionals and parents that will keep our children safe in the future.  You can read the state's reports by following the links below:

The State team is currently undertaking a survey of all 92 Indiana counties.  Legislation mandates that each county have, or be a part of, a local or regional team for reviewing child deaths.  Unfortunately, training, support and networking opportunities for these teams are scarce.  Our goal is to create a cohesive program, whereby information can easily be shared between local and state teams, and each team can access training on conducting child death reviews.  If your county has not yet been contacted, and/or you would like to suggest training opportunities you would like to see, please email us.

The most recent training opportunity offered by the Indiana State Child Fatality Review Team was a SUIDI Training, which took place in Corydon Indiana on May 30-31, 2007.  Learn more about SUIDI and read comments and media reports.

Future plans for fatality review include training conferences across the State for both SUIDI Investigation, as well as conducting Child Fatality Review meetings.  There is also a general agreement about the need for adult fatality review teams in Indiana.

**New: Recently, NPR aired a story about positional asphyxia deaths in infants.  The story was reacting to several infant deaths in recent weeks in Detroit, Michigan.  You can listen to the broadcast by following this link.