Section 300.170  Child Death Review Teams

a)         The Director of the Department shall appoint a child death review team in each subregion of the Department outside Cook County and at least one child death review team in Cook County.

b)         Every child death shall be reviewed by the team in the Department subregion that has primary case management responsibility when the deceased child meets one of the criteria described in Section 300.160(a)(2) of this Part. The child death review team may, at its discretion, review other sudden, unexpected, or unexplained child deaths.

c)         The purposes of the child death reviews are to:

1)         assist in determining the cause and manner of the child's death, when requested;

2)         evaluate means by which the death might have been prevented;

3)         report its findings to appropriate agencies;

4)         make recommendations that may help to reduce the number of child deaths caused by abuse or neglect;

5)         promote continuing education for professionals involved in investigating, treating, and preventing child abuse and neglect as a means of preventing child deaths due to abuse or neglect; and

6)         make specific recommendations to the Director and the Inspector General of the Department of Children and Family Services concerning the prevention of child deaths due to abuse or neglect and the establishment of protocols for investigating child deaths. [20 ILCS 515/20(b)]

d)         A child death review team shall review a child death as soon as practical upon receiving notification from the Department and not later than 90 days following the completion by the Department of the investigation of the death. When there has been no investigation by the Department, the child death review team shall review a child's death within 90 days after obtaining the information necessary to complete the review from the coroner, pathologist, medical examiner, or law enforcement agency, depending on the nature of the case. [20 ILCS 515/20(c)]

e)         Following the review, the team shall forward its recommendations, on forms provided by the Department, to the Director of the Department.

f)         The Director shall, within 90 days, review and reply to recommendations made by a team pursuant to subsection (c)(6) of this Section. The Director shall implement recommendations as feasible and appropriate and shall respond in writing to the death review team to explain the implementation or nonimplementation of the recommendations. [20 ILCS 515/20(d)]

g)         A child death review team shall have access to all records and information that are relevant to the team's review of a child's death and in the possession of a State or local government agency. [20 ILCS 515/25(b)] Other records and case information relevant to the review include:

1)         birth certificates;

2)         all relevant medical mental health records;

3)         records of law enforcement agency investigations;

4)         records of coroner or medical examiner investigations;

5)         records of the Department of Corrections concerning a person's parole;

6)         records of a probation and court services department, and records of a social service agency that provided services to the child or the child's family.

(Source:  Added at 22 Ill. Reg. 18847, effective October 1, 1998)