State-by-State Analysis of Child Fatality Reporting: a 21-Year Review
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State-by-State Analysis of Child Fatality Reporting: a 21-Year Review David M. Mantell 1
& Kelly
M. Scharlach 1 & Saipriya K. Iyer 1 & Hiba M. Chergou 1
# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Online reports published by Child Fatality Review Boards (CFRBs) for all 50 of the USA across 21 years, from 1998 to 2018, were downloaded and analyzed to determine the nature of the information available to the public about the causes of child fatalities. A modified coding system based on the Life Events Checklist (LEC) system of the National Center for PTSD was used to identify contexts of children’s fatal injuries. Child death due to inflicted injury by other persons is the most frequently reported context category in the 21 years surveyed. The LEC-based system captured 80% of the published fatality context data. A lack of consensus was found among the states in regard to the kinds of information reported online, how the information is organized and presented, and the frequency of reporting. These inconsistencies encumber the development of national data trends and analyses. Individual case reports with specific details about child injury context and causation, child protection history, and child protection interventions were infrequent, and when present often highly redacted. Keywords Child maltreatment . Child fatalities . Cause of death . Manner of death . Child
Fatality Review Boards . Child Fatality Reports . Child abuse and neglect . Physical assault In 2017, it was reported that 674,000 cases of child abuse and neglect were substantiated nationwide, a 2.7% increase from the national statistics in 2013 (USDHHS 2017). Of these substantiated cases, 1720 child victims reportedly died as a result of their maltreatment (USDHHS 2017). These child fatality statistics are thought to be underestimates of true rates due to system-wide problems with underreporting and under-investigation of suspected cases (Barnett et al. 2005; Crume et al. 2002; Gilbert et al. 2009; Schnitzer et al. 2013). A number of factors can contribute to underestimation, including the lack of standardized reporting requirements (including definitions of
* David M. Mantell [email protected]
1
Child Protection Laboratory, Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, TC Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA
International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice
abuse and neglect), differences in child fatality investigations systems, variation in state child fatality review and reporting processes, lack of coordination among the involved agencies, and factors related to the determination and recording of the manner and time of death, among others (Child Welfare Information Gateway 2019). Failures to recognize and report symptoms of child abuse and neglect contribute to a significant number of young children experiencing multiple potentially fatal injuries even before these cases are officially identified by medical, child welfare, law enforcement, and mental health personnel (Bre
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