Last updated:  February 2008

Barbara Legier
Division of Child and Family Services
4126 E. Technology Way, 3rd Floor
Carson City, Nevada 89706
Phone:  775-684-4407
Email:  blegier@dcfs.state.nv.us

Tools

• Nevada Child Death Review Legislation

Reports

• State of Nevada, Division of Child and Family Services, Children's Justice Task Force, The Child Death Review Subcommittee, A Report of Child Deaths for the Years 1999-2001

Mortality Statistics

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

Administration
The Nevada CDR program was established in 1993. The program is stand-alone with much of the work conducted by volunteers.   In 2003, a law was passed in Nevada that places a one dollar tax on death certificates.  The money will be used to fund child fatality review.  Nevada estimates that this will provide approximately $150,000 per year.  Other program funding comes from the Children's Justice Act and CAPTA.

Teams
Nevada has both state and local teams. The Citizen’s Review Panel is included in Nevada’s CDR efforts. 

State Team:  
The team is comprised of eight members and meets quarterly. 

Local Teams:
There are five teams and they meet monthly. 

Reviews
Nevada CDR teams review deaths to children age 17 years and younger that were not under physician’s care. 

Purpose
The purpose of the Nevada CDR Program is prevention. 

Data
Standardized data reporting forms are completed for all reviews. This is required by state legislation beginning January 2004. Nevada CDR has access to state vital statistics and uses it for demographic information. CDR data is stored in a private computerized database and is analyzed through statistics. 

Annual Report
Nevada does produce an annual report. The annual report features data from five local teams. This report is distributed to all team members, CPS staff, Judicial, Assemblymen and County Commissioners. 

Prevention Initiatives
CDR findings have influenced policy changes. Local community examples include Child Death Investigative Checklist Policies within CPS and DCFS for review of newborns in families where children are in foster care. Another example is the change in law regarding newborn placement from homes where other children have been removed. 

Protocols
Nevada CDR has a variety of protocols in place including CDR Meeting and confidentiality.

Training
The training is provided through the child death review fund and is scheduled at the request of the multidisciplinary teams.