                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

LOCAL AND REGIONAL CHILD FATALITY REVIEW TEAMS ESTABLISHED; MEMBERSHIP;
AUTHORITY; CONFIDENTIALITY; IMMUNITY (§ 32.1-283.2)

A. Upon the initiative of any local or regional law-enforcement agency, fire
department, department of social services, emergency medical services agency,
attorney for the Commonwealth&#8217;s office, or community services board, local
or regional child fatality teams may be established for the purpose of
conducting contemporaneous reviews of local child deaths in order to develop
interventions and strategies for prevention specific to the locality or region.
Each team shall establish rules and procedures to govern the review process.
Agencies may share information but shall be bound by confidentiality and execute
a sworn statement to honor the confidentiality of the information they share.
Violations are punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor. The State Child Fatality
Review Team shall provide technical assistance and direction as provided for in
subsection A of &#xA7; 32.1-283.1.

B. Local and regional teams may be composed of the following persons from the
localities represented on a particular board or their designees: a medical
examiner appointed pursuant to &#xA7; 32.1-282, a local social services official
in charge of child protective services, a director of the relevant local or
district health department, a chief law-enforcement officer, a local fire
marshal, a local emergency medical services agency chief, the attorney for the
Commonwealth, an executive director of the local community services board or
other local mental health agency, and such additional persons, not to exceed
four, as may be appointed to serve by the chairperson of the local or regional
team. The chairperson shall be elected from among the designated membership. The
additional members appointed by the chairperson may include, but are not
restricted to, representatives of local human services agencies; local public
education agencies; local pediatricians, psychiatrists and psychologists; and
local child advocacy organizations.

C. Each team shall establish local rules and procedures to govern the review
process prior to conducting the first child fatality review. The review of a
death shall be delayed until any criminal investigations connected with the
death are completed or the Commonwealth consents to the commencement of such
review prior to the completion of the criminal investigation.

D. All information and records obtained or created regarding the review of a
fatality shall be confidential and shall be excluded from the Virginia Freedom
of Information Act (&#xA7; 2.2-3700 et seq.) pursuant to subdivision 7 of &#xA7;
2.2-3705.5. All such information and records shall be used by the team only in
the exercise of its proper purpose and function and shall not be disclosed. Such
information or records shall not be subject to subpoena, subpoena duces tecum,
or discovery or be admissible in any criminal or civil proceeding. If available
from other sources, however, such information and records shall not be immune
from subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, discovery or introduction into evidence
when obtained through such other sources solely because the information and
records were presented to the team during a fatality review. No person who
participated in the reviews nor any member of the team shall be required to make
any statement as to what transpired during the review or what information was
collected during the review. Upon the conclusion of the fatality review, all
information and records concerning the victim and the family shall be returned
to the originating agency or destroyed. However, the findings of the team may be
disclosed or published in statistical or other form which shall not identify
individuals. The portions of meetings in which individual cases are discussed by
the team shall be closed pursuant to subdivision A 21 of &#xA7; 2.2-3711. All
team members, persons attending closed team meetings, and persons presenting
information and records on specific fatalities to the team during closed
meetings shall execute a sworn statement to honor the confidentiality of the
information, records, discussions, and opinions disclosed during any closed
meeting to review a specific death. Violations of this subsection are punishable
as a Class 3 misdemeanor.

E. Members of teams, as well as their agents and employees, shall be immune from
civil liability for any act or omission made in connection with participation in
a child fatality review team review, unless such act or omission was the result
of gross negligence or willful misconduct. Any organization, institution, or
person furnishing information, data, testimony, reports or records to review
teams as part of such review, shall be immune from civil liability for any act
or omission in furnishing such information, unless such act or omission was the
result of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

HISTORY: 1999, c. 867; 2004, c. 690; 2014, c. 583; 2015, cc. 502, 503; 2017, c.
778.