Nebraska - State Spotlight


State Spotlight - Nebraska Last updated: February 2008 Director: Joseph Acierno, MD, JD Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nebraska Health and Human Services System P.O. Box 95026 Lincoln, NE 68509-5026 Phone: 402-471-1759 Email: joseph.acierno@dhhs.ne.gov Coordinator: Debora Barnes-Josiah, PhD Office of Family Health Nebraska Health and Human Services System P.O. Box 95007 Lincoln, NE 68509-5026 Phone: 402-471-9048 Fax: 402-471-7049 Email: debora.barnesjosiah@dhhs.ne.gov Website: http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/CDRteam/ Tools Nebraska Child Death Review Legislation Reports Nebraska Child Death Review Report for 2004, 5th Report of the Nebraska Child Death Review Team, October, 2007 Nebraska Child Death Review Report for 2002-2003, 4th Report of the Nebraska CDR Team, July 2006 Nebraska Child Death Review Special Report on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Cases, January 1 - March 31, 2005 Nebraska Child Death Review Report for 1996-2001, 3rd Report of the Nebraska CDR Team, July 2004 Nebraska Child Death Review Team Report to the Governor's Children's Task Force, November 18, 2003 Mortality Statistics Nebraska Child Mortality Data, 2002 Nebraska Child Mortality Data, 2003 Nebraska Child Mortality Data, 2005 Program Description Administration The Nebraska Child Death Review Team (NCDRT) was established in 1993 by legislation. Funds from the MCH Block Grant support the program with an annual budget of $70,000. Funding for the program is year-to-year. The program is housed out of the Nebraska Health and Human Services. There are 1.2 FTEs that staff the program and .25 in kind staff. Nebraska is a member of the Midwest regional CDR coalition. Teams Nebraska has a state level review team. State Team: (Chairperson - Dr. Joseph Acierno) The team is comprised of 12 members and meets monthly/quarterly. The NCDRT is a retrospective process. The Department of Vital Records is responsible for sending the NCDRT coordinator matched birth/death certificates of all child deaths under the age of 18. They are screened and organized by cause of death into categories. A request is then made to hospitals, county attorneys and other sources for records concerning the deaths of the children to be reviewed. Once all the information is collected, cause-specific workgroups review the deaths. The full CDRT, as needed, reviews some selected cases. These might include complicated medical cases, child abuse and neglect and any others that might need a broader review. Local Teams: There is a FIMR in Douglas County (Omaha), with two other communities expressing interest. Reviews The Nebraska State CDR team reviews deaths to children under the age of 18 years old. Purpose The purpose of the Nebraska CDR Program is prevention. Data Standardized data reporting forms are completed for all reviews. This is not a required function by state legislation or policy. Nebraska is participating in the National Center for Child Death Review Case Reporting System pilot. Nebraska CDR has access to state vital statistics. The information is extracted from birth and death certificates for purposes of case review. CDR data is stored in a database and is analyzed by SAS. Annual Report Nebraska does produce an annual report. This report is distributed to the Governor, state legislature, team members and on request. Prevention Initiatives CDR findings have influenced policy changes. A statewide example of this is graduated drivers licensing. Lots of work is centered on preventing sleep-associated infant deaths. Protocols Nebraska CDR has a variety of protocols in place including CDR Meeting and confidentiality. Training Training is not provided.