§ 422-b. Local and regional fatality review teams.
1.A fatality\nreview team may be established at a local or regional level, with the\napproval of the office of children and family services, for the purpose\nof investigating the death of any child whose care and custody or\ncustody and guardianship has been transferred to an authorized agency,\nother than a vulnerable child as defined in article eleven of this\nchapter, any child for whom child protective services has an open case,\nany child for whom the local department of social services has an open\npreventive services case, and in the case of a report made to the\nstatewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment involving the\ndeath of a child. A fatality review team may also investigate any\nunexplained or unexpected d
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§ 422-b. Local and regional fatality review teams. 1. A fatality\nreview team may be established at a local or regional level, with the\napproval of the office of children and family services, for the purpose\nof investigating the death of any child whose care and custody or\ncustody and guardianship has been transferred to an authorized agency,\nother than a vulnerable child as defined in article eleven of this\nchapter, any child for whom child protective services has an open case,\nany child for whom the local department of social services has an open\npreventive services case, and in the case of a report made to the\nstatewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment involving the\ndeath of a child. A fatality review team may also investigate any\nunexplained or unexpected death of any child under the age of eighteen.\n 2. A local or regional fatality review team may exercise the same\nauthority as the office of children and family services with regard to\nthe preparation of a fatality report as set forth in paragraphs (b) and\n(c) of subdivision five of section twenty of this chapter.\nNotwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary and to the\nextent consistent with federal law, such local or regional fatality\nreview team shall have access to those client-identifiable records\nnecessary for the preparation of the report, as authorized in accordance\nwith paragraph (d) of subdivision five of section twenty of this\nchapter. A fatality report prepared by a local or regional fatality\nreview team and approved by the office of children and family services\nsatisfies the obligation to prepare a fatality report as set forth in\nsubdivision five of section twenty of this chapter. Such report shall be\nsubject to the same redisclosure provisions applicable to fatality\nreports prepared by the office of children and family services.\n 3. For the purposes of this section, a local or regional fatality\nreview team must include, but need not be limited to, representatives\nfrom the child protective service, office of children and family\nservices, county department of health, or, should the locality not have\na county department of health, the local health commissioner or his or\nher designee or the local public health director or his or her designee,\noffice of the medical examiner, or, should the locality not have a\nmedical examiner, office of the coroner, office of the district\nattorney, office of the county attorney, local and state law\nenforcement, emergency medical services and a pediatrician or comparable\nmedical professional, preferably with expertise in the area of child\nabuse and maltreatment or forensic pediatrics. A local or regional\nfatality review team may also include representatives from local\ndepartments of social services, mental health agencies, domestic\nviolence agencies, substance abuse programs, hospitals, local schools,\nand family court.\n 4. A local or regional fatality review team established pursuant to\nthis section shall have access to all records, except those protected by\nstatutory privilege, within twenty-one days of receipt of a request.\n 5. Members of a local or regional fatality review team, persons\nattending a meeting of a local or regional fatality review team, and\npersons who present information to a local or regional fatality review\nteam shall have immunity from civil and criminal liability for all\nreasonable and good faith actions taken pursuant to this section, and\nshall not be questioned in any civil or criminal proceeding regarding\nany opinions formed as a result of a meeting of a local or regional\nfatality review team. Nothing in this section shall be construed to\nprevent a person from testifying as to information obtained\nindependently of a local or regional fatality review team or which is\npublic information.\n 6. All meetings conducted and all reports and records made and\nmaintained, and books and papers obtained, by a local or regional\nfatality review team shall be confidential and not open to the general\npublic except by court order and except for an annual report or a\nfatality report, if the fatality review team chooses to complete such an\nannual report or fatality report. The release of any fatality report\nprepared by a local or regional fatality review team shall be governed\nby the provisions of subdivision five of section twenty of this chapter.\nAny such annual report or fatality report shall not contain any\nindividually identifiable information and shall be provided to the\noffice of children and family services upon completion. The office of\nchildren and family services shall forward copies of any such report to\nall other local or regional fatality review teams established pursuant\nto this section, to all citizen review panels established pursuant to\nsection three hundred seventy-one-b of this chapter, and to the\ngovernor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the\nassembly.\n