The Review, Vol. 4, Issue 1 (Jan.-Mar. 2006)

January-March 2006 Quarterly Newsletter
Volume 4, Issue 1

"The Review" Office of Child Fatality Review
Now A~~eptiNngominations fixthe SmondAnnual Child Fatality Review Corn@ofthe Rm & ChildFatality Review Comfierofthe Em Contest!

The Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel is pleased to announce that the Second Annual "CFR County and Coroner of the Year" contest is now underway. We are currently accepting nominations from county committees. If you believe your local CFR Committee or your local Coroner did an outstandingjob with Child Fatality Review in 2005, please nominate them. Please send us a brief explanation as to why you feel the particular county or coroner deserves this award. Mention useful information as it relates to the CFR process as well as the prevention of child deaths. Counties and Coroners will be considered based on their compliance with the legislation, the thoroughness of their reports, as well as their prevention efforts at the local level. Winners will be announced at the annual "Child Fatality and Serious Injury Conference: Building Successful Teams" being held in April. This conference is sponsored by our Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Child Advocate and the Department of Human Resources. Attendees from around the state will be there to congratulate the County and Coroner chosen for this award. Please contact our office if you have additional questions or need further information.
Thank you for a 99% eompIim~erate!!
The Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel would like to thank all counties that completed their 2004 Child Fatality Review Reports resulting in a 99% compliance rate for the State for Calendar Year 2004. We greatly appreciate all of the hard work and prevention efforts that went into reviewing these reports. Over the past few years we have seen a steady increase in our compliance rate. We attribute this to the hard work of individual committees as well as the addition of the District Attorneys as mandated chairpersons. Although most DAs have chosen a designee for their committees, this change has provided us with the accountability and consistency we need on the committees. Thank you District Attorneys, designees and every committee member for all that you do to make sure that child deaths are being accurately identified and reported.

CFR Questions &h s w m
Question: How do I register for 2006 Child Fatality Review Committee training? Answer: Registration forms will be sent out in March to all child fatality review
members and will also be available on our website. When you receive them please complete the registration form and return it to the Office of Child Fatality Review as soon as possible. Trainings will be held May through June 2006.
0: What does our CFR committee do if we hear about a child that died in another
state, but resided in our county?
A: Log onto the website www.childdeathreview.organd click on the words "State
Spotlights." Once the map has come up click on the state where the child died. This will give you contact information for the State Child Fatality Review coordinator. This person should be able to help you obtain all of the information necessary to complete a review.

Inside this issue

CFR Contest

1

Thank You!

1

CFR Q and A

1

ATV Facts

2

CFR Reminders

2

GADEC

3

We Have Success

3

Upcoming Events

4

ATV Facts By Olivia Long, MPH, Program Coordinator Safe Kids Georgia
and Greg Pereira, RN, BSN, Trauma Coordinator Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (edited)
An All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) is a three or four-wheeled machine intended for off-road use. The average adult-size ATV weighs 550 pounds and many can travel as fast as 75 miles per hour. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), ATV injuries and deaths have increased every year since 1995. This rise is due to the increasing popularity and speed of these vehicles. In 2003, 111 children under the age of 16 died and 38,600 were injured as a result of ATVs. Safe Kids Worldwide reports that head injuries account for most of the serious and fatal injuries occurring from rollovers, collisions with stationary objects and falls.
According to the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel, ATVs were responsible for the deaths of 19 children and teens under the age of 16 between 2001 and 2003. Further, the Division of Public Health's Injury Prevention Section states that over a two year period 94 children 14 years of age and under were admitted to the hospital for ATV-related injuries. The total length of stay for these 94 patients was 386 days, which resulted in more than $1.2 million dollars in medical expenses.
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta had 205 admissions related to ATV injuries from 2003 - 2004 for children under the age of 16. One hundred and three children had injuries to the head and neck. Six children died as a result of their injuries. Greg Periera, RN, Trauma Coordinator for Children's, states "ATV safety has become a significant concern for the pediatric population. At Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, ATV accidents have become the fifth leading cause of traumatic injury. We have seen a 17 month old child involved in an ATV crash. What's most alarming about this case is that the 17 month old was riding in his father's lap while his 9 year old sibling was driving the ATV. Public awareness needs to be raised regarding Safe Kids recommendations."
Safe Kids Worldwide, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommend that children under the age of 16 should not operate, or even ride, an ATV of any size, including the youth-size models. These organizations contend that ATVs are difficult to operate and children under 16 do not have the cognitive and physical acuity to operate them safely.
For teens 16 and older, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Safe Kids Georgia recommends that these safety tips should be followed to prevent ATV and other off-road vehicle injuries:
Only one person should ride on the ATV at a time; never cany anyone else. Wear appropriate riding gear: DOT, Snell, or ANSI-approved helmet, goggles, gloves, over-the-ankle boots, long-sleeve shirt
and long pants Only operate an ATV that is designed for your size and age. Inspect your ATV before you ride (tires, wheels, controls, chains, brakes). Do not operate the ATV on streets, highways or paved roads. Read Owners Manual and enroll in an ATV Safety Training Course. Call the ATV Safety Institute for more information at (800) 887-2887 or www.atvsafetv.org. According to Safe Kids Worldwide, only 27 states have minimum age requirements for operation of an ATV. Of these, only three states require operators to be 16 years or older. ATV injuries and deaths are a rising concern w i t h all sectors of healthcare professionals. The increase in use and concurrently rapid increase in injuries and deaths is a disturbing trend. National and worldwide organizations, after careful research and consideration,recommend that parents should not allow children under the age of 16 to ride or operate these off road vehicles. Many states have made strides to reduce the needless injuries and deaths related to ATV use by proposing and adopting legislation. Hopefully, Georgia legislators will carefully consider this important issue and join the ranks of states committed to reducing the preventable injuries and deaths that result from the operation of ATVs. If you would like more information about the risk of ATVs to children go to www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/atv-safetv-crisis-2003-final-all.pdf.

All CFR Reports are due 67 days (not counting holidays and weekends) after the child death in your county. Please submit these reports in a timely manner Coroners should be filling out the Coronerhledical Examiners Form 1 for every child death. For medical deaths complete the first and last page only. For all unexpected or unexplained deaths complete the entire form.
T h s form can be completed online by going to our website www.gacfr.dhr.aeoraia.gov or it can be completed by hand
If you have any changes to your committee membership please contact our office so we can update our database
er need child death statistics
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for your county, circuit or for the state we can help. We have 5 years of data and are more than happy to help with any requests your committee might have Please send us any newspaper articles, press releases, or information about prevention activities that are going on in your area. We love to hear about events that are going on around the state and are happy to include information about them in our newsletter If your committee has not yet held a meeting for Calendar Year 2005 please schedule one as soon as possible. It is important that your committee stay active throughout the year even if you have not had any deaths.

Submitted by Dr. Janet Oliva, GBI
The mission of the Georgia Alliance for Drug Endangered Children (GADEC) is to work collaboratively to prevent abuse to children caused by the manufacture, distribution, sale and use of drugs, and to rescue, defend, shelter and support children who suffer physical and psychological harm caused by methamphetamine, alcohol and other drugs. The GADEC serves as a collaborative partner between public and private agencies and communities to protect Georgia's children who are exposed to the use, abuse, sale and manufacture of drugs. This effort will encompass a holistic approach in identifying children at risk, intervening to provide safety and appropriate services to ensure that Georgia's children are nurtured in homes that are safe and stable. For more information please contact www.g.eorg.iadec.org;or Melva Steps - Project Director 404-463-1229

WEHAVESUCCESST!he success stories o f Georgia's Counties
On September 17,2005 the Screven County Department of Juvenile ~usticeset up an information booth at the Junior Woman Club's Sampler, focusing on ATV Safety. Pamphlets, stickers, a display board, and a presentation with a short video were presented. The Screven County Department of Juvenile Justice also joined forces with the Sylvania PoliceIFire Chief, Gary Weaver to give a bike to a youth that did not have one. This youth's family did not have transportation. By working together DJJ and Chief Weaver were able to give this child the opportunity to go to the library and get involved in after school activities. The story below came out of the Douglas County Sentinel Newspaper. Jackie Wright has been an active member of her CFR committee for many years.. Congratulations Douglas County on a job well done. (Pictured Below) Barbara Moreno of SafeKids, Traci Sullivan of the S h e r r s Department and Jackie Wrightof the Police Department are working toprevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Protecting babies from SIDS by Winston Jones/Photo by Nathan odd

A good way to protect your baby from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is to place her on her back in bed and stick a pacifier in her mouth. This was among several major SIDS reduction recommendations released Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and endorsed by two Douglas County child protection groups. ' Parents have been getting a lot of misinformation about SIDS in the past,' said Jackie Wright, a Douglasville Police Detective and chairman of the Douglas County Child Fatality Review (DCCFR) Board. ' This latest AAP recommendation emphasizes how important it is for a baby to sleep on its back.' Wright said while a baby can be moved to the parents' bed for nursing, it's important that the child sleep in its own bed which should be free of a lot of extra cover and stuffed toys.

However, AAP does recommend that the baby's crib or bassinet be kept in the parents' bedroom. ' After reviewing a number of SIDS and SUID (Sudden Unexplained Infant Death) deaths in Douglas County, the DCCFR board is convinced that cosleeping (with parents) and not placing children on their backs to sleep were major contributors to these deaths,' Wright said.' We often meet resistance when we try to relay this information to the public,' she added. ' Now we have the backing of the AAP for these recommendations.' Barbara Moreno, coalition coordinator for Safe Kids Douglas County, echoed this message.

Please send us information about activities, events and programs in your county. No prevention effort is too big or too small. We look forward to hearing from you!

Together Everyone Achieves More

Show w y m staff!
Please submit your county's stories of success or other ideas by March 10,2006 to: The Office of Child Fatality Review 506 Roswell Street, Suite 230 Marietta, Georgia 30060
Phone: (770)528-3988 Fax: (770)528-3989
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January 23-27,2006: the San Diego International

gia. Please contact http://wwwa.state.ga.us/

Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment will departments/dhr/ohrmd/Training/

be held at the Town and Country Hotel and Con-

conferences.htm1 for registration information.

. vention Center. Contact Linda Wilson at 858-966-
4972 for additional information January 26-27,2006: the 5th Annual National

The conference registration website will be open after 2/15/06. CFR Training will begin in April 2006 and run

Drowning Prevention Symposium: Working To-

through June 2006. YOUshould be receiving

ward a Sea of Change. Diamond Head All-Suite

your registration forms and training information

. Resort, Ft Myers Beach, Florida. For conference
information, visit www.drowninnwrevention.info April 11-13,2006: the Building SuccessfulTeams:

no later than March 2006. If you do not receive any information please contact our office. Coroners Trainings for 2006 will be posted on the

Investigation and Prosecution of Serious Injury

Georgia CoronersAssociation website at

and Fatal Child Abuse will be held in Atlanta, Geor- www.peorgiacoronersassoc.org

CIPBDeadlimes mdTimelimes
We are currently collecting all 2005 Child Fatality Review Reports. If you need a listing of reports not yet completed, please contact our Office and we will be happy to provide one. Please remember the CFR timeline outlined in legislation dictates a 67 day timeline (not including holidays and weekends) for all child death review reports to be submitted to our office. Coroners should be notifyingtheir DA or Designee within 48 hours of every child death in their county. With 2006 already upon us we have already begun collecting reports for 2006. When using the online system, please use the same CFR Report from 2005. It should say "2004 and Forward on the top left corner of the form.
****** If you are receiving this newsletter but are no longer a member of your local Child Fatality
Review committee please contact our office in order to update our mailing database*"*

Office of Child Fatality Review 506 Roswell Street, Suite 230 Marietta Georgia, 30060 Phone: 770.528.3988 Fax: 770.528.3989 Website: www.sacfr.dhr.aeoraia.aov

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT#292 MARIETTA,GA

In an effort to facilitate information sharing, w e have developed this newsletter to bring us closer. Knowing that our goal is the protection of children and the prevention of child deaths, w e want to include your experiences and ideas to improve the quality of services w e provide. Please contact us w i t h any suggestions on how to make the
Office of Child Fatality Review process helpful to you.
G o Team!