State Spotlight - Maryland

Last updated:  February 2008

Joan Patterson, Coordinator
State Child Fatality Review Team (SCFRT)
Maryland Public Health
CMCH State of Maryland
201 W. Preston St. Room 309
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-767-6727
Fax: 410-333-5233
Email: Jpatterson@dhmh.state.md.us

Website: http://www.fha.state.md.us/mch/cfr/

Tools

Reports

Mortality Statistics Program Description

Administration
Maryland Senate Bill 464 created child fatality review, state and local Citizens Review Panels and the state CAN Council.  CFR is mandated but not funded.  The program was established by statute (Section 5-701 et seq.) in 1999. It is housed out of the Center for Maternal and Child Health (CMCH), Department of Mental Health and Hygiene. There is one employee at the state level. CMCH also administers the Fetal Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) program.

Teams
Maryland has both a state and local CFR teams which are mandatory in each county. CFR also serves as one of the CAPTA Citizen Review Panels.

State Team Chairperson: Sally Dolch
There are 25 members on the Maryland State Child Fatality Review Team (MSCFRT).  The Governor appoints the members which includes 11 citizens with expertise or interest in child safety or welfare, 12 representatives from state agencies and two pediatricians who are members of the American Academy of Pediatrics.  The team meets quarterly.  The state team created a policy manual of guidelines to assist local teams with the child fatality review process.

Local Teams:
Local teams are mandated to be multi-agency and multi-disciplinary. Maryland has 23 county based review teams and one city team.  Teams conduct retrospective/periodic reviews.  Local teams advocate at the local level through letters to the media and recommendations to agencies.  They also identify education and training needs at the local level.

Reviews
Maryland CFR teams review deaths to children ages 0-17.  Local teams may elect to review deaths up to 21 years of age.  Teams review all causes of deaths.   

Purpose
The purpose of the Maryland CFR Program is prevention.

Data
Reports are completed at the local level on the child deaths that are reviewed. A staff support person from the Center for Maternal and Child Health tabulates CFR reports and updates the State Team.  

Annual Report
Maryland does produce an annual report. The report is issued to the Governor, the General Assembly and state and local CFR members. 

Prevention Initiatives
CFR findings have motivated prevention activities in the areas of motor vehicle crashes, pool and lake drownings, house fires, SIDS, homicides, suicides and natural means.  

Training
Three members of the State Team presented workshops about “The State Child Fatality Review Team”, “The Role of the Medical Examiner in Unexpected Deaths”, and “Child Death Investigations by Law Enforcement” at the statewide annual conference on child abuse & neglect. Additionally, state team members conduct various trainings across the state.  Maryland CFR provides an annual statewide CFR training for local team members.