The Review, Vol. 5, Issue 3 (July-Sept. 2007)

July--September 2007 Quarterly Newsletter
Volume 5, Issue 3

"The Review"
Office of Child Fatality Review
Congratulations to the 2006 CFR County and Coroner of the Year Winners!!
On April 3, 2007, we recognized the 2006 CFR County of the Year and Coroner of the Year at our annual Building Successful Teams conference. Floyd County was selected by the CFR Panel members to receive this award for County of the Year, in recognition of all of the work that they have done in the past year. The Floyd County CFR committee has assisted local law enforcement with traffic stops for seat belts and passed out stuffed animals to all the children who were properly belted. They received great community response to the traffic stop program and it was featured in their local paper. The team also assisted with funds to the Child Abuse Prevention Committee with a printed "mandated reporting guide" to give to mandated reporters of child abuse, and organized a presentation from DHR for seat belts and child safety seats to the Protocol committee.

The CFR Coroner of the Year winner is Grover "Mickey" Barfield, of Macon County. He is a 27-year veteran of law enforcement with 24 years of death investigation experience. In the past year, he organized a public seminar and program on battered women, which led to more women coming to the local sheriff department reporting
Child Fatality Review spousal abuse, and more protective orders being served. He participated and educated Bible Study group on County of the Year: coroners duties, and as a result, more churches are getting involved in starting support groups, and the public is
requesting future programs. He also volunteered to go for training to be a child safety seat instructor.

Congratulations to all those who were nominated for these CFR awards. We continue to support these local champions, and it is our hope that they will inspire others to similar accomplishments throughout the state.
Summer is Here!! Safety Tips for Friends and Family!
July 2007: National Youth Sports Week (July 10-14) Take time to educate your children and teens on the potential for sports-related injuries and how to care for themselves in the summer heat

August 2007: Children's Eye Health and Safety Month Ninety percent of eye injuries are preventable. The leading causes of eye injuries include sports-related accidents, consumer fireworks, household chemicals and battery acid, as well as workshop and yard debris (American Academy of Ophthalmology)

Inside this issue

2006 CFR Awards

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September 2007: National Suicide Prevention Week (September 9-15)

Summer Safety Tips 1

Visit www.suicidology.org for free evidence-based prevention resources and programs that you can use to become a suicide prevention specialist in your local school or commu- Injury Prevention Plan 2

nity. Please also review the Georgia Suicide Prevention Plan available at the DHR Injury Child Abuse Protocol 2

Prevention Section website (www.health.state.ga.us) or call 404-657-6322

National Farm Safety and Health Week (September 16-22)

Panel Profile Page

3

Because entire families are often active in farming, this puts more children at greater risk for injury than any other industry. Visit the National Education Center for Agricultural Prevention Efforts 3

Safety at http://www.nsc.org/necas/training_edu.htm for more information on farmer safety day camps for children, and free resource materials

Upcoming Events

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The Statewide Child Injury and Fatality Prevention Plan
By: Sarah O'Leary, Public Health Prevention Specialist
The Office of Child Fatality Review (OCFR) together with the Injury Prevention Section of the Division of Public Health, are leading the process to develop a statewide child injury and fatality prevention plan. The goal of the plan is to reduce childhood injuries and deaths among Georgia's children. A Prevention Specialist position from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was secured to provide direct support for analysis of the state injury and fatality data and writing of the plan, for a two-year period beginning in October 2006. The development of the plan is a dynamic process that will be data driven, engaging state and local stakeholders and identifying proven interventions that can be implemented by communities.
Injuries are the leading cause of death and disability to children under 18 years of age, in Georgia and nationally. Every year approximately 700 of Georgia's children die from injuries, over 5,000 children are hospitalized, and more than 200,000 visit hospital emergency departments. An untold number of children also visit local urgent care centers for treatment of injuries. The cost of these injuries impacts both the family and community. Not only are there physical losses due to death and disability, but there are emotional consequences, and economic costs at the individual, local and state level. These injuries can be attributed to a variety of causes including motor vehicle related accidents, drowning, assaults, fires, and falls, to name a few of the mechanisms of injury. Many of these injuries are preventable and proven interventions do exist which can reduce the impact of this problem.
Georgia has several data sources available that will be analyzed to understand the extent of the problem within specific age groups and to identify risk and protective factors. Special attention will be given to examining disparities within the Georgia population.
Evidenced-based interventions will be researched, compiled and linked to prevention needs identified in the data. As the plan is developed and implemented, current prevention efforts at the state and local level will be identified and nurtured, with a focus on complementing and enhancing local and regional efforts in child injury prevention. Effort will also be made to align interventions with state and national initiatives that may provide funding opportunities in the future, such as the Georgia Violent Death Reporting System and the CDC focus on child maltreatment. Stakeholders will be identified to determine their interest in child injury and fatality prevention, and their current needs and resources for injury prevention within their communities.
A draft of the plan is expected to be available for review by September 1. The draft plan will be disseminated to stakeholders at the state and local level for review and discussion, before proceeding to a final plan. For more information on the development and distribution of the plan, please contact Prevention Specialist Sarah O'Leary at 404-463-7186, or email at saoleary@dhr.state.ga.us.
Child Abuse Protocol Committee trainings soon...
Our legislation mandates that each county have established a Child Abuse Protocol (CAP) committee, and that committee shall adopt a written protocol, and file that protocol with DFCS and CFR. A copy of that protocol shall also go to any agency in the county that handles cases of abused children. The protocol shall also outline procedures to be used when there is child abuse in a household experiencing domestic/ family violence. The protocol committee shall meet at least twice each year to evaluate the protocol and modify or update it, as needed. The protocol committee shall issue a report by July of each year, describing the previous year's child abuse investigations and any measures taken to improve compliance or prevent child abuse. [O.C.G.A. 19-15-2]
Due to the number of recent requests we have received for child abuse protocol trainings, we are planning to hold a series of regional trainings focusing solely on Child Abuse Protocols. If your CAP committee would like to discuss issues relating to developing or updating your county protocol, or other issues relating to child abuse investigation, prevention or intervention, please consider attending one of these trainings. Information will be posted on our website as it becomes available, or call the Office of Child Fatality Review at 770-528-3988.
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CFR Panel Profile Page

Dr. Nancy Fajman, Child Abuse Prevention

Dr. Nancy Fajman is a Board certified pediatrician, having spent much of her career in the area of child abuse evaluation. In 1996, she helped start the Child Protection Program for Egleston Children's Hospital and served as Medical Director until 2000. She continues to work part-time in the child abuse programs at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta in Scottish Rite and at Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital. She lectures frequently to medical and non-medical professionals on the evaluation of child maltreatment.

Dr. Fajman began serving on the CFR Panel in January 2006, but her experience began in 1994, when she served as a member of the Fulton County CFR Committee until 2000. She was also co-author of the 1997 report "The Best of Intentions: an Evaluation of the Child Fatality Review Process in Georgia".

Dr. Fajman knows that the CFR process requires the dedication of the multidisciplinary team to pool their resources and information to get the best understanding of why a child died. She says, "the next creative step is to envision how to prevent similar subsequent deaths. Then there is the practical step of turning the vision into a viable plan, which requires time, diligence, and determination." When asked what advice she has for county committees trying to do this difficult work, she says, "the conclusions you draw will only be as good as the information you put into the process. All areas of a child's life need to be thoroughly investigated, as well as other life issues like school attendance, homelessness, and parental supervision." When asked about child injury prevention, she says, "Be careful about calling a death `accidental'. It implies that nothing could be done to stop it. Many of these deaths are preventable, and should be a major focus for CFR teams."

County Prevention Efforts in 2007

Georgia's Division of Public Health (Family Health Branch) in collaboration with community partners has initiated a Crib Matching Program to assist families with providing a separate and safe sleep environment for infants in order to reduce the risks of SIDS and other infant deaths related to bed sharing. Georgia's Crib Matching Program will match an agency's purchase of cribs (portable "Pack-nPlays") based on a ratio of three cribs matched for every five purchased by the partner agency. The pack-n-plays are priced at $68.50. Counties currently participating are: Clayton, Bibb, Fannin, Gilmer, Dougherty, Floyd, Fulton, Schley, Muscogee, Henry, Cobb, Douglas, Jeff Davis, Cherokee, Jenkins, and Wilkes. For more information, please contact Kim Washington in the DHR Division of Public Health, Office of Infant and Child Health, at 404-463-2117, or email at kiwashington@dhr.state.ga.us. There are approximately 500 cribs remaining, and the program will end in January 2008.

Clayton County Although many counties are participating in the Crib Matching Program, the Clayton County CFR team challenged each of its member agencies to contribute funds toward the purchase of cribs (portable "Pack-nPlays") to get the free match of three cribs for every five purchased. So far, the team has purchased 15 cribs, and received nine free cribs as a match, helping them to provide safe sleep environments for 24 infants and families in need.
On April 27, Clayton County CFR hosted an international Child Death Review training for several team members from the United Kingdom. The UK team is learning the best practices from several US review teams in order to improve their national program. Clayton CFR volunteered to provide training and assistance to their developing program.

Have you got a great program that you want to share? Is your county doing something that helps children and teens to avoid injury and stay safe? Let us know and
share your story with other CFR teams! We look forward to hearing from you!

Together Everyone Achieves More

Please submit your county's stories of success or other ideas by September 14, 2007 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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Upcoming Events

July 15-17, 2007: Power of Prevention, the 23rd annual July 22-25, 2007: The Prosecuting Attorneys Council

symposium of Prevent Child Abuse Georgia, at the wild hold their annual Summer Conference at the

Crowne Plaza Ravinia in Atlanta. For more informa- Jekyll Island Convention Center. Please visit

tion, visit www.preventchildabusega.org.

www.pacga.org for more information.

July 18-20, 2007: The Child Advocate Conference will September 9-12, 2007: The Georgia Commission on

be held at the Atlanta Marriott Perimeter Center. For Family Violence will host the 14th annual Statewide

more information, please visit www.state.ga.us/

Family Violence Conference at the Hyatt Regency

gachildadvocate/ or call 1-800-254-2064.

Savannah. Please visit www.gcfv.org or call 404-

657-3412 for more information.

CFR Deadlines and Timelines
2006 CFR reports should be submitted to the Office no later than July 31, 2007. Please call the Office if you need assistance in reviewing or reporting on 2006 child deaths. If your committee has not yet held a review meeting for all 2006 child deaths, please schedule one as soon as possible.
2006 Child Fatality Review and Child Abuse Protocol Annual Reports should be submitted to the Office by July 1, 2007. Please also submit these annual reports to your county's legal organ, the Judiciary Committee Chairman of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia State Senate (addresses posted on our website). Please call the Office at 770-528-3988 for more information.
Tell us how we're doing! Please take a few minutes to fill out the enclosed survey. We want to know how the CFR process is working for you in your community, and what we can do to help make it better. Please mail or fax the completed survey to the Office by August 31, 2007. We value your suggestions!
If you have not yet received the new CFR Policy Manual, please contact the Office or download it online.

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Office of Child Fatality Review 506 Roswell Street, Suite 230 Marietta Georgia, 30060 Phone: 770.528.3988 Fax: 770.528.3989 Website: www.gacfr.dhr.georgia.gov

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