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Page 2 September 1, 1997 DPN
Figure 2. Child Fatalities by Age, 1995
No. deaths
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Natural
M External
<1 Year
1-4
5-9
10-14
15-17
Age
n4,009
Natural: diseases, congenital anomalies, perinatal conditions, and certain ill-defined condition
External: one specific external event-such as collision, shooting, fire, or shaking-that initiates c
chain of morbid conditions
dren older than 9 years, nearly 70% of
fatalities were due to some type of in-
jury.
The most common cause of injury deatl
among children is motor vehicle crashe
(Table 1), which in 1995 claimed the liv
of 475 children in Texas. Not surpris-
ingly, nearly half of these deaths were t
children aged 15 to 17 years. Intentional
injury deaths (homicide and suicide) ac
counted for an additional 31% of the
child fatalities in 1995. The 32% increas
in the number of intentional injury
deaths from 1980 through 1995 is associ
ated with the increase in firearm fatali-
ties during this period. Of the 238 inter
tional injury deaths to children in 1980,
123 (58%) involved firearms. In 1995,
253 (68%) of the 374 intentional injury
deaths to children involved firearms.
Child Fatality Review Teams
Until recently, there has been no system
for coordination and communication
among agencies that have information
about a child, family, or circumstances of
death. Until each piece of the puzzle is
brought together, knowledge about the
causes and circumstances of death of
Texas' children is limited.
In 1995 the Texas Legislature amended
Chapter 264 of the Family Code with the
Child Fatality Review Team and Investi-
gation statute, creating an organized ap-
proach for child fatality review. The leg-
ns islation authorized local child fatality re-
view teams, established a state commit-
tee charged with oversight and support,
and assigned specific duties to 3 state
agencies: the Texas Department of
Health, the Texas Department of Protec-
tive and Regulatory Services, and the
Children's Trust Fund Council. The
5 child fatality review teams are made up
s of law enforcement personnel, prosecu-
tors, medical examiners, health care pro-
fessionals, child advocates and protective
0 service professionals, public and mental
l health experts, and justices qf the peace.
They screen deaths in their jurisdictions
for detailed information regarding the
e nature and circumstances of each death.
This review includes information about
L- other people living with the child, the
use of safety devices such as seat belts or
- smoke alarms, events surrounding SIDS
deaths, the relationship of perpetrator to
victim, and information about the
weapon in intentional injury fatalities.
Table 1. Child Fatalities by Cause, 1995
Cause No. (%)
Motor Vehicle 475 (40)
Homicide 259 (22)
Drowning 126 (10)
Suicide 115 (10)
Other 88 (7)
Fire 78 (6)
Suffocation 40 (3)
Poisoning 14 (1)
Falls 8 (1)
While local teams are busily involved in
reviewing child deaths, the state child fa-
tality review team committee is trying to
improve the necessary components of an
effective statewide child fatality review
system: death certification, reporting,
and training for professionals who inves-
tigate child deaths. Efforts are being
made to strengthen procedures to insure
that child abuse cases are properly inves-
tigated by both law enforcement and
1203 (100)
I4
.4
'4
I'.Ina
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September 1, 1997
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