State Spotlight - New Jersey

Last updated:  February 2008

Michele Safrin, CCAPTA Coordinator
Department of Children and Families
Office of Evaluation Support and Special Investigations
N. J. Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board
222 South Warren, 3rd Floor
P.O. Box 729
Trenton, NJ 08625-0717
Phone: 609-777-4536
Fax: 609-633-3697
Email: michele.safrin@dcf.state.nj.us

Website: http://www.nj.gov/dcf/about/commissions/fatality/

Tools

Reports

 

Mortality Statistics

Program Description

Administration
New Jersey’s Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board (CFNFRB) was established in 1997 by legislation. New Jersey’s CDR Program is housed out of the Division of Youth and Family Services, Department of Human Services without dedicated funding. There are three in-kind staff at the state level for the program.  Additionally, New Jersey is part of the Northeast Region of Child Death Review Programs.

The Department of Health and Senior Services received funding from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau to institute a Mortality/Morbidity Review Project. The goal of this project is to enhance the mortality/morbidity infrastructure in New Jersey by integrating functions of the New Jersey FIMR and Maternal Mortality Review in the Department of Health and Senior Services and the Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review in the Department of Human Services.

Teams
New Jersey has both state and local teams. The state level team is mandated by statute and the local teams are permitted. 

State Team: (Chairperson - Anthony D’Urso)
The State Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board (CFNFRB) is composed of 13 ex-officio with expertise in the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect. The board also has public members. The CFNFRB meets monthly to review the deaths of active child protection cases. By law, the board can determine which fatalities receive full review. The CFNFRB also serves as a Citizen’s Review Panel.

Local Teams:
The CFNFRB has established four Regional Community-Based Review Teams with the support of the Regional Child Protection Centers that meet monthly.  They look at all categories of child death with the exception of active child protection cases.  By law, these teams must include at a minimum, a person experienced in prosecution, a person experienced in local law enforcement investigation, a medical examiner, a public health advocate, a physician, preferably a pediatrician and a casework supervisor from a division field office. 

Reviews
Teams review deaths due to SIDS, suicide and abuse/neglect.  Deaths of children who had a history with social services or that were state wards are also reviewed.  Teams review deaths to children under the age of 18 years old.  Serious injuries are also reviewed in New Jersey using the following definition, "A serious or critical condition, as certified by a physician, in which a child suffered a permanent mental or physical impairment, a life threatening injury or a condition that creates a probability of death within the foreseeable future".

Purpose
The purpose of the New Jersey CFR Program is prevention.

Data
Standardized data reporting forms are completed for all reviews. This is required by statute. Data are collected on the reviews and compiled in a database managed by the Division of Youth and Family Services. Additionally, the New Jersey Mortality/Morbidity Review Project is working to implement a comprehensive mortality/morbidity review data information system.

Annual Report
New Jersey does produce an annual report. This report is posted on the Department of Children and Families web site.

Prevention Initiatives
Findings from the review process have motivated prevention activities. The CFNFRB does support the efforts of the New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect to develop a safe sleep campaign. The CFNFRB also wrote educational pieces that were featured in the Newsgram of the Emergency Medical Service for Children Board and the newsletter of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Protocols
The CFNFRB has meeting, confidentiality and child/infant death investigation protocols.

Training
A joint mortality/morbidity workshop was held on October 30, 2003, for New Jersey FIMR, Maternal Mortality Review and CFNFRB staff and team members. The goal of this workshop was to improve the understanding among members of the three review processes, encourage networking and provide an educational opportunity for participants.