Recommendations from child fatality review teams: Results of a US nationwide exploratory study concerning maltreatment fatalities and social service delivery

Abstract

Multidisciplinary child fatality review teams (CFRT) have existed in the United States (US) for almost 30 years; the products of the review process, however, remain unexamined. This study reviewed reports from CFRT throughout the US to compile and evaluate the identification of problems and recommendations by professionals concerning child maltreatment fatalities. Team- and state-level data were also used for analysis to better understand the context in which recommendations are made. Over 300 recommendations for change from CFRT were grouped into 11 macro categories. The frequency of each type of recommendation and examples from each category are provided. The authors provide recommendations of their own for improvements in CFRT outputs. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.