Child fatality review and prevention

Children are the future of our community. We all play a role in keeping them safe and helping them to thrive. The untimely loss of any child’s life is a tragedy for the child’s family and our community – especially when the loss is preventable.

Data saves lives

Every year in the United States, almost 37,000 children die before their 18th birthday. The death of a single child is a profound loss to a family and community, bringing unjust suffering and pain. Understandably, when a community is affected by a child’s death, it wants answers about how and why the child died. These answers can help communities have a clearer understanding of underlying risk factors and inequities that they may not identify otherwise.

In 2021, approximately 175,500 preventable injury-related child fatalities occurred in the United States, according to the National Center for Child Fatality Review. To better understand how we can prevent these fatalities, the Snohomish County Health Department uses a process known as Child Fatality Review (CFR) to examine the circumstances so we can identify risk factors and prevention interventions. The information collected through the review process informs recommendations for data-driven prevention strategies.

About Child Fatality Review in Snohomish County

Review Team Form and Function

The Health Department regularly convenes community representatives from medical and behavioral health, social services, child welfare, education, law enforcement and other agencies who work with children. Together, the team reviews the unnatural deaths of children in the county, including sudden unexplained infant death, accidental deaths such as motor vehicle accidents, drowning, poisoning, burns, overdose, and intentional fatalities such as suicide and homicide.

Outcomes

Through the review, partner agencies identify risk factors as well as gaps in systems or services that may have contributed to deaths. Aggregated data and recurring themes are used to inform prevention recommendations. These recommendations are shared with local community leaders and those working in injury prevention. This information also is added to a national database that guides prevention efforts. As a result of the process, partner agencies also build relationships, improve their own prevention practices, identify gaps in services, and strengthen collaboration.

Protected by Law

Child Fatality Review teams operate in most states and counties across the country. In Washington, state codes (RCW 70.05.170 and RCW 70.05.210) permit local health jurisdictions to do this work. These rules also allow partner agencies to share and discuss data for this purpose. The law mandates strict privacy and confidentiality measures to protect information about those who died and their loved ones. Information about individual fatalities is not shared publicly as part of the fatality review work.

FATALITY DATA

Data tells the story and helps us determine action and priority. Learn about child fatality statistics in Snohomish County.

Child fatality review data briefs can be found below:

Keep our Kids Safe

Injuries and fatalities are most often preventable. Learn what you can do to promote child safety and protect children's lives from some of the leading causes of injury and death.