1. (a)

   1. (1) Although an infrequent occurrence, near fatalities and fatalities of children who are receiving services or who have recently received services from the Division of Children and Family Services do occur.
   2. (2) Fatalities may occur due to an illness or other medical condition, as a result of child neglect or abuse, or because of a nonchild maltreatment related accident.
   3. (3) Regardless of the cause of a near fatality or fatality, these events are extremely traumatic for the family of the child, the foster family (if applicable), Division of Children and Family Services staff, and service providers.
   4. (4) Division of Children and Family Services staff will be supportive and helpful to those who have had a meaningful and/or legal relationship with the child including relatives and foster parents.

   5. (5) Division of Children and Family Services leadership and management will:

      1. (A) Recognize the importance of appropriately supporting staff who worked directly with the child; and
      2. (B) Encourage those staff members to seek appropriate, individualized services as needed.

2. (b)

   1. (1) Pursuant to Arkansas Code § 12-18-103 a near fatality (also referred to in DHS Policy 1090 as a serious injury) means an act that, as certified by a physician, places a child in serious or critical condition.
   2. (2) As such, the Division of Children and Family Services will rely on the involved medical facility’s designation of the child’s condition in determining if a particular incident meets the criteria of near fatality as defined by law.

3. (c) The Division of Children and Family Services county office will immediately, within one (1) hour, notify the appropriate Area Director or designee and the Assistant Director of Field Operations or designee and initiate action to ensure the safety of other children in the home when the Division of Children and Family Services becomes aware of a child near fatality or fatality that may be the result of maltreatment and:

   1. (1) The child or sibling of the child is a subject of a pending child maltreatment investigation or a child maltreatment investigation within the preceding twenty-four (24) months;
   2. (2) The child or sibling of the child is a client in any open supportive or protective services or out-of-home case; and
   3. (3) The child or sibling of the child was a client in a supportive, protective services, or out-of-home case during the previous twenty-four (24) months.

4. (d)

   1. (1) The Assistant Director of Field Operations or designee will immediately, within one (1) hour, notify the Director of the Division of Children and Family Services who will notify the Department of Human Services Deputy Director, the Office of Chief Counsel of the Department of Human Services (per DHS Policy 1090) and the Department of Human Services’ Director of Communications.
   2. (2) As such, the Division of Children and Family Services will not automatically issue press releases on cases of child near fatality or fatality related to maltreatment but will respond to requests for information as they are received in consultation with the Department of Human Services’ Director of Communications.
5. (e) The Division of Children and Family Services will ensure that DHS Policy 1090 adhered to regarding all near fatalities and fatalities.
6. (f) When a fatality occurs in an open out-of-home case, the Division of Children and Family Services will respectfully assist and support the parents in making funeral arrangements or take other actions deemed necessary by the Area Director.

7. (g)

   1. (1) Because quality improvement and accountability guides the work of the Division of Children and Family Services, an internal team of Division of Children and Family Services staff will meet following a child fatality that meets at least one (1) of the criteria established in subsection (c) of this section, above.
   2. (2) The team will review the case and identify systemic issues, public health concerns, and where practice could have been improved in that particular case in an effort to prevent future child fatalities and near fatalities.

8. (h)

   1. (1) Following a Division of Children and Family Services internal near fatality or fatality review, the Division of Children and Family Services will also be responsible for holding a meeting with the External Child Near Fatality and Fatality Review Team to review any certified near fatality or fatality for which there is a current child death investigation (i.e., related to child maltreatment).
   2. (2) The External Child Near Fatality and Fatality Review Team will conduct a comprehensive review of the circumstances leading to the near fatalities and fatalities of children who have been reported through the Child Abuse Hotline.
   3. (3) Based on the findings of the reviews, the External Child Near Fatality and Fatality Review Team will develop recommendations and actions, as appropriate, to be implemented to prevent other child near fatalities and fatalities.

9. (i) The External Child Near Fatality and Fatality Review Team will be comprised of the following members:

   1. (1) The Director of the Division of Children and Family Services or designee;
   2. (2) The Division of Children and Family Services Assistant Director of Field Operations or designee;
   3. (3) The Division of Children and Family Services FSW Supervisor designated by the Director of the Division of Children and Family Services;
   4. (4) The Division of Children and Family Services FSW Investigative Supervisor designated by the Director of the Division of Children and Family Services;
   5. (5) Commander of the Crimes Against Children Division or designee;
   6. (6) Executive Director of the Arkansas Child Abuse/Rape/Domestic Violence Commission or designee;
   7. (7) Children’s Advocacy Centers of Arkansas Director or designee;
   8. (8) Arkansas State CASA Association Director or designee;
   9. (9) Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s Team for Children at Risk and Arkansas Children’s House Director or designee;
   10. (10) Dependency-Neglect Attorney Ad Litem Director or designee;
   11. (11) Office of Chief Counsel Director or designee;
   12. (12) The Governor’s Senior Advisor for Child Welfare;
   13. (13) A member of the Arkansas Child Death Review Panel;
   14. (14) A member of the Department of Health;
   15. (15) A member appointed by the Chair of the Subcommittee on Children and Youth of the House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs; and
   16. (16) A member appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

10. (j)

    1. (1) This External Child Near Fatality and Fatality Review Team will meet at least quarterly each calendar year.
    2. (2) The committee meetings will be closed and information discussed at the meeting will be confidential.
    3. (3) Individuals who are not members of the External Child Near Fatality and Fatality Review Team will not be allowed to attend or otherwise participate in a committee meeting unless a majority of the members vote to request the attendance or participation of a noncommittee member.
11. (k) These external reviews will provide the Division of Children and Family Services and other stakeholders involved with child serving systems with an additional opportunity to collaboratively review the facts surrounding the fatality and accurately assess child deaths, work to improve systemic issues, address public health concerns, and determine recommendations to improve practice and work together as a system to prevent future child fatalities and near fatalities.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: "07/2018"