Origins and clinical relevance of child death review teams

Interagency child death review teams have emerged in response to the increasing awareness of severe violence against children in the United States. Since 1978, when the first team originated in Los Angeles, Calif, child death review teams have been established across the nation. Approximately 100 million Americans or 40% of the nation's population now live in counties or states served by such teams; most have been formed since 1988. Multiagency child death review involves a systematic, multidisciplinary, and multiagency process to coordinate and integrate data and resources from coroners, law enforcement, courts, child protective services, and health care providers. This article provides an introduction to the unique factors and magnitude of suspicious child deaths, and to the concept and process of interagency child death review. Future expansion of this process should lead to more effective multiagency case management and prevention of future deaths and serious injuries to children from child abuse and neglect.