NCJ Number
152802
Date Published
1994
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This document summarizes State laws that mandate autopsies in child fatalities and that authorize the establishment of child death review teams.
Abstract
States mandating autopsies in child death investigations include Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The statutes specify under what circumstances the county coroner or medical examiner is required to perform an autopsy on a child, conditions that depend on the age of the child, and conditions that depend on the cause of death (i.e., Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, child abuse or neglect). Arizona, California, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington have laws creating child death review teams charged with reviewing child fatalities statistics, developing protocols for child death investigations, and identifying suspicious child deaths.