Last updated:  November 30, 2007

Chairman of Executive Council:
Dr. Dan Cuneo
2217 West Main
Belleville, IL 62226
Phone: 618/ 227-5498 
Fax: 618/ 235-4316
Email: dcuneo@charter.net

Vice-Chairwoman of the Executive Council:
Clairice Hetzler
Executive Director of Children's Action Network
531 Hampshire Street, 2nd Floor
Quincy, IL 62301
Phone: 217/ 223-2272 
Fax: 217/ 223-6791
Email: can4kids@adams.net

CDR State Coordinator:
Sherry Barr
Illinois Department of Children & Family Services
406 E. Monroe Station 40
Springfield, IL 62701-1498
Phone: 217/ 785-2503
Fax: 217/ 785-0398 
Email: Sherry.Barr@illinois.gov

Website: http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/index.shtml

Tools

• Illinois Child Death Review Legislation
• Get Water Wise...Supervise Brochure
• Care Enough to Call Brochure
• A Manual for Mandated Reporters, September 2006

• Child Abuse and Neglect Statistics 1997 Annual Report
• Illinois Child Death Review Team 2002 Report and Recommendations

• Illinois Child Mortality Data, 2002
• Illinois Child Mortality Data, 2003
• Illinois Child Mortality Data, 2005

Administration
The Illinois Child Death Review Program was established in 1994 by statute (Section 515/1 et seq.).  Illinois’s CDR Program has an annual budget of $150,000 and is funded by and housed out of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). DCFS also provides support in kind and contracts with Prevent Child Abuse Illinois for one full time employee. This employee works with regional teams in Illinois, outside of Chicago. DCFS also administers the Citizen’s Review Panel. 

Teams
Chicago, the largest city in Illinois, began reviewing child deaths in 1986. Because of its size, they have two teams. In 1995, legislation was passed and regional CDR teams were established to cover the remainder of the state. Each regional team is led by a chair and a vice chair who then serve on the Executive Council of CDR Teams. Illinois also is a member of the Midwest Child Fatality Coalition. 

Executive Council Chairperson:  Dr. Deanna St. Germain
The Council carries the mission to provide some standardization of the regional teams.  They also sit on the State Citizen’s Review Panel. 

Local Teams:
There are nine local/regional teams. Sherry Barr from DCFS receives death certificates from the 120 county registrars. Those that meet the review criteria are forwarded to the regional teams. The regional teams then review cases and make recommendations to DCFS, which has 90 days to respond to the CDR Teams. The regional teams send their reports to DCFS and they are entered into a database.

Reviews
The review case criteria are for children up to the age of 18 years in which the child was a ward of the state, the child/family had contact with DCFS within the last year, the child’s death led to a DCFS investigation or if the child's family had a case open for services. Each team is mandated to review the cases that fall into the categories listed above, but do have the option of discretionary reviews.

Purpose
The purpose of Illinois’s CDR Program is to prevent child deaths. 

Data
Standardized data reporting forms are completed for all reviews. CDR data is stored in a database and analyzed by the DCFS Research Center. The Illinois CDR Program has access to state vital statistics. State vital statistics are reviewed and sent on to regional teams.

Annual Report
Illinois does produce an annual report. The report is distributed to the Governor, Legislators, Heads of State, other states, prosecutors, teams members and others. 

Prevention Initiatives
CDR findings have motivated prevention activities in Illinois.  A drowning prevention campaign, Get Water Wise...Supervise was initiated.  Flyers, brochures and bus signs were developed.  A committee continues to meet to steer the campaign efforts.  

Protocols
Illinois has a CDR meeting and confidentiality protocol in place.

Training
The Illinois CDR Program hosts a symposium every year for their team members.