New Jersey and Florida Legal Actions Hamper Child Death Reviews

New Jersey

“New Jersey child welfare authorities want the authority to disclose less information about their involvement in cases that end in the death or near-death of a child.

The state Department of Children and Families is proposing new rules that would let the agency withhold information about its involvement in child abuse cases that end tragically, as long as it determines the withheld information was not relevant to the abuse that led to a death or near-death.

Agency spokeswoman Kristine Brown said the proposed changes, published in the New Jersey Register in April and being commented upon now, mirror new federal language. She said the changes are needed to comply with federal law.

“Without the amendment, the state regulations would require DCF to publicly release more information than is permitted pursuant to the federal guidance, and could jeopardize the approximately $150 million New Jersey receives each year in federal child welfare dollars,” she said. “This administration has provided greater transparency surrounding child fatalities than any prior administration, but we must also ensure that vital federal resources to benefit abused and neglected children in New Jersey are not jeopardized in the process.”

But child welfare advocates say the state should be releasing more, not less, information about how it handles allegations of abuse or neglect.

Mary Coogan, assistant director of Advocates for Children of New Jersey, said more information could help prevent future tragedies.

“The goal is not to place blame, but to learn from these terrible tragedies in a public and transparent way,” she said. “Looking closely at the state’s actions or inactions in these cases can help improve the safety of children across New Jersey.”

She said federal law is intended to encourage the release of information about child fatality cases to help states improve their child protection systems and as a way to make these agencies publicly accountable.

“The proposed regulations leave it up to the Department of Children and Families to decide what information is pertinent,” Coogan said. “The agency whose actions are being reviewed should not be given the authority to subjectively determine what information is pertinent.””

NJ wants to disclose less about child death cases

[Seattle Post-Intelligencer 6/13/13 by Associated Press/Wayne Parry]

Florida

“The committee that reviews Florida’s child-abuse deaths can’t do its job as effectively because of a public records exemption Gov. Rick Scott vetoed, the committee chairman said. He said, people testifying are less open with a microphone in front of them.

As broadcasters can attest, interviewees sometimes save their most honest observations for the minute the microphone is turned off. That’s why Special Agent Terry Thomas, who chairs the State Child Abuse Death Review Committee, has been pushing for a public records exemption, so his group’s reviews don’t have to be recorded. He said, he’s very disappointed Scott vetoed it.

“Law enforcement, medical, prosecutors and so on are less likely to be candid about the circumstances and making recommendations of prevention if they’re being recorded,” Thomas said.

In a letter, Scott said he vetoed the exemption to preserve the “careful balance between openness and reasonable confidentiality.”

For several years, the committee was exempt from recording reviews, and the bill was an attempt to reinstate that.”

Child Death Committee Chair: Gov.’s Veto Hampers Child-Abuse Prevention

[WFSU 6/13/13 by Jessica Palombo]

REFORM Puzzle Piece