MCA Chapter 111

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-111-1 Child death review panel created; purpose; panel membership; annual report; contents of report.

There is created the Child Death Review Panel, whose primary purpose is to foster the reduction of infant and child mortality and morbidity in Mississippi and to improve the health status of infants and children. The Child Death Review Panel shall be composed of seventeen (17) voting members: the State Medical Examiner or his representative, a pathologist on staff at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, an appointee of the Lieutenant Governor, an appointee of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and one (1) representative from each of the following: the State Coroners Association, the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Office of Vital Statistics in the State Department of Health, the Attorney General’s office, the State Sheriff’s Association, the Mississippi Police Chiefs Association, the Department of Child Protection Services, the Children’s Advocacy Center, the State Chapter of the March of Dimes, the State SIDS Alliance, the Mississippi Children’s Safe Center, Safe Kids Mississippi, and the Mississippi State Fire Marshal’s office. The Chairman of the Child Death Review Panel shall be elected annually by the Review Panel membership. The Review Panel shall develop and implement such procedures and policies necessary for its operation, including obtaining and protecting confidential records from the agencies and officials specified in subsection (4) of this section. The Review Panel shall be assigned to the State Department of Health for administrative purposes only, and the department shall designate staff to assist the Review Panel. The Child Death Review Panel shall submit a report annually to the Chairmen of the House Public Health and Human Services Committee and the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on or before December 1. The report shall include the numbers, causes and relevant demographic information on child and infant fatalities and near fatalities in Mississippi, and appropriate recommendations to the Legislature on how to most effectively direct state resources to decrease infant and child deaths in Mississippi. Data for the Review Panel’s review and reporting shall be provided to the Review Panel, upon the request of the Review Panel, by the State Medical Examiner’s office, State Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Department of Child Protection Services, medical examiners, coroners, health care providers, law enforcement agencies, and any other agencies or officials having information that is necessary for the Review Panel to carry out its duties under this section. The State Department of Health shall also be responsible for printing and distributing the annual report(s) on child and infant deaths in Mississippi. The Children’s Safe Center may access and analyze data from the Mississippi Health Information Network to identify data concerning child fatalities and near fatalities necessary for the Review Panel’s reporting.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-111-3 Mandatory reporting of child fatality or near fatality; mandatory reporters; reporting procedure and contents; confidentiality of reports; reporter immunity; penalties.

Mandatory reporters: All law enforcement officers, firefighters, child protection service employees, medical care personnel, doctors, nurses, medical examiners, coroners, health care providers, and all agents and employees of the State Medical Examiner’s office, and any other persons who are designated as mandatory reporters under Section 43-21-353(1) who have knowledge or information concerning a “child fatality” or child “near fatality” must make a report to the State Child Abuse Hotline. Definitions. “Child fatality” or “child death” means the sudden and unexpected, or otherwise unexplained death of a child who is between the ages of birth and eighteen (18) years. “Child near fatality” or “child near death” incident includes all occurrences where a child’s physical condition is medically diagnosed as “serious” or “critical” if there is some indication or suggestion that the child’s injuries may have been caused by abuse, neglect, or an unexplained cause. Mandatory reporting requirement. A mandatory reporter must make a report if it would be reasonable for the mandatory reporter to suspect that a child death or child near fatality was caused by abuse, neglect, or occurred unexpectedly due to an unexplained cause. Reports to the Child Abuse Hotline must be made in all circumstances involving child fatalities and near fatalities, including, but not limited to, situations where: Abuse or neglect is the suspected cause of a child’s sudden or unexpected death; There is a medical diagnosis of “sudden unexplained infant death” (SUID); The cause of death of any child is unexplained; The child is the victim of suspected sexual abuse or sexual exploitation, and physical injury has resulted that has been medically diagnosed as “serious” or “critical”; and Severe abuse or neglect is suspected, or an unexplained cause resulted in severe physical injury or trauma to a child that resulted in a medical diagnosis that the child’s condition was “serious” or “critical,” or which required hospitalization in an intensive care unit of a hospital. Mandatory reporting procedure. A report required under subsection (2) must be made immediately to the State Child Abuse Hotline. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a mandatory reporter may not delegate to any other person the responsibility to report, but must make the report personally. Contents of the report. The report must identify, to the extent known to the reporter, the following: The name and address of the minor victim; The name and address of the minor’s caretaker; Any other pertinent information known to the reporter. Confidentiality.Reports made under this section are not public records. Reports made under this section and the identity of the mandatory reporter shall be confidential, except when the court determines the testimony of the person reporting to be material to a judicial proceeding, so that the identity of the reporter is released to law enforcement agencies and the appropriate prosecutor. In those circumstances, the identity of the reporting party shall not be disclosed to anyone other than law enforcement or prosecutors except under court order. Violation of this confidentiality requirement is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment not to exceed six (6) months, a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars, ($1,000.00), or both. Disclosure of any information by the prosecutor shall conform to the Mississippi Uniform Rules of Circuit and County Court Procedure. Penalties. Failure to make a mandatory report required under this section will be punished as follows: Immunity. A mandatory reporter who makes a required report under this section or participates in a judicial proceeding resulting from a mandatory report is presumed to be acting in good faith. A health care practitioner or health care facility is immune from any penalty, civil or criminal, for good-faith compliance with any rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section. A person or institution reporting in good faith is immune from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed. A person who is convicted of a first offense of failure to make a report as required under this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). A person who is convicted of a second offense of failure to make a report as required under this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), imprisoned for not more than thirty (30) days, or both. A person who is convicted of a third or subsequent offense of failure to make a report as required under this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), imprisoned for not more than one (1) year, or both.