San Francisco Family Violence Council: Addressing Violence ...



San Francisco Family Violence Council: Addressing Violence throughout the Lifespan

San Francisco Death Review Teams Summary

|Elements |Child DRT |Domestic Violence DRT |Elder DRT |

|Authorizing Legislation|Established in 1988 under Penal Code (Section 11166.7) and |In 1995, Penal Code section 11163.3(a) authorized counties |In 2001, Penal Code section 11174.4 authorized: |

| |State Welfare and Institutions Codes (Section 830 & |to: |Each county may establish an interagency elder death team |

| |10850.1) |“establish interagency DV DRTs to assist local agencies in |to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing |

| | |identifying and reviewing domestic violence deaths, |suspicious elder deaths and facilitating communication |

| | |including homicides and suicides, and facilitating |among persons who perform autopsies and the various persons|

| | |communications among the various agencies involved in |and agencies involved in elder abuse or neglect cases. |

| | |domestic violence cases.” | |

|Purpose/ Mission |Through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary review of |According to Penal Code section 11163.3(a), the purpose of |Assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing |

| |child (birth to 18 years) deaths, we will better understand|DV DRTs is to “ensure that incidents of domestic violence |suspicious elder (65 years and older) deaths and |

| |how and why children die and use the findings to take |and abuse are recognized and that agency involvement is |facilitating communication among persons who perform |

| |action to prevent other deaths and improve the health and |reviewed to develop recommendations for policies and |autopsies and the various persons and agencies involved in |

| |safety of our children. |protocols for community prevention and intervention |elder abuse or neglect cases. |

| | |initiatives.” | |

| |Each team is to assist local agencies in identifying and | |Examine deaths associated with suspected elder abuse and/or|

| |reviewing suspicious child deaths and facilitating |Based upon this, the following mission statement was |neglect, identify, and work towards the implementation of |

| |communication among persons involved in child abuse and |developed: |prevention strategies to protect our elder population. |

| |neglect cases to ensure that incidents of child abuse or |“The purpose of a DV DRT is to review domestic | |

| |neglect are recognized and non-offending family members |violence-related fatalities, strengthen system policies and| |

| |receive the appropriate services in cases where a child has|procedures and identify prevention strategies to reduce | |

| |expired. |future incidents of domestic violence-related injuries and | |

| | |deaths.” | |

|Membership |Child DRTs are comprised of: |DV DRTs may be comprised of, but not limited to, the |Elder DRTs may be comprised of, but not limited to, the |

| |Experts in the field of forensic pathology. |following: |following: |

| |Pediatricians with experience in child abuse. |Experts in the field of forensic pathology. |Experts in the field of forensic pathology. |

| |Coroners and medical examiners. |Medical personnel with expertise in domestic violence |Medical personnel with expertise in elder abuse and |

| |Criminologists. |abuse. |neglect. |

| |District Attorneys. |Coroners and medical examiners. |Coroners and medical examiners. |

| |Child Protective Services Staff. |Criminologists. |District attorneys and city attorneys. |

| |Law Enforcement Personnel. |District attorneys and city attorneys. |County or local staff including, but not limited to: |

| |Child Abuse Prevention Coordinating Councils. |Domestic violence shelter service staff and battered |Adult protective services staff, |

| |County Health Department staff who deal with children's |women’s advocates. |Public administrator, guardian, and conservator staff. |

| |health issues. |Law enforcement personnel. |County health department staff who deal with elder health |

| |Mental Health representative. |Representatives of local agencies that are involved with |issues. |

| |Probation Department Staff. |domestic violence abuse reporting. |County counsel. |

| | |County health department staff who deal with domestic |County and state law enforcement personnel. |

| | |violence victims’ health issues. |Local long-term care ombudsman. |

| | |Representatives of local child abuse agencies. |Community care licensing staff and investigators. |

| | |Local professional associations of persons described in |Geriatric mental health experts. |

| | |paragraphs (1) to (10), inclusive. |Criminologists. |

| | | |Representatives of local agencies that are involved with |

| | | |oversight of adult protective services and reporting elder |

| | | |abuse or neglect. |

| | | |Local professional associations of |

| | | |persons described in subdivisions |

| | | |(1) to (11), inclusive. |

|Objectives |Ensure the accurate identification and uniform, consistent |Provide a confidential forum for the systematic review of |Prevent elder abuse fatalities. |

| |reporting of the cause and manner of every child death. |domestic violence-related deaths. |Examine deaths of elders with suspected elder abuse and/or |

| |Improve communication and linkages among local and state |Improve communication and collaboration among local |neglect. |

| |agencies and enhance coordination efforts. |agencies. |Identify patterns that lead to fatal outcomes. |

| |Improve agency responses in the investigation of child |Identify system gaps and shortcomings to facilitate |Determine whether reviewed deaths. could have been |

| |deaths. |improvement. |preventable. |

| |Improve agency responses to protect siblings and other |Create and maintain a standardized database of information |Develop prevention strategies. |

| |children in the homes of deceased children. |relating to domestic violence-related deaths. |Increase awareness of the responsibility of each Health |

| |Improve criminal investigations and the prosecution of |Use database information and findings from case reviews and|Care Provider to refer cases arising from abuse or neglect |

| |child homicides. |investigations to track patterns and trends, monitor |to the appropriate agencies including, but not limited to: |

| |Improve delivery of services to children, families, |programs and develop/recommend coordinated prevention |Coroner, Adult Protective Services, State Licensing |

| |providers and community members. |strategies and long-term interventions. |Department, Ombudsman, and Law Enforcement. |

| |Identify specific barriers and system issues involved in |Increase public awareness and involvement in the prevention|Improve system responses by identifying gaps in delivery |

| |the deaths of children. |and intervention of domestic violence. |services. |

| |Identify significant risk factors and trends in child | |Prosecution of offenders. |

| |deaths. | |Develop intervention strategies to reduce fatalities and |

| |Identify and advocate for needed changes in legislation, | |eliminate ongoing abuse and/or neglect. |

| |policy and practices and expanded efforts in child health | | |

| |and safety to prevent child deaths. | |(From the Sacramento Elder Death Review Team) |

| |Increase public awareness and advocacy for the issues that | | |

| |affect the health and safety of children. | | |

|Frequency and |The Child DRT meets every other month and is co-chaired by |Protocol from the Attorney General recommends that the DV |The Elder DRT meets every other month (when there is a case|

|Leadership |Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Amy Hart and Kathy Baxter. All |DRT be co-chaired by a representative from the DA’s Office,|to discuss) and is co-chaired by the head of the DA’s Elder|

| |child deaths (ages 0-18) that are reported to the Medical |Sheriff’s or Police Department, or the Medical Examiner, |Abuse Unit and the Chief Medical Examiner. |

| |Examiner's Office are reviewed by the team. |and by a member of the community. The San Francisco DV DRT| |

| | |only reviews closed cases, and meets when cases have been | |

| | |adjudicated, leading to an irregular meeting schedule. | |

|Deaths Reviewed |All child deaths in San Francisco County. |DV homicides after adjudication by the court. |Elder deaths deemed suspicious because of cause of death, |

| | | |circumstances of death, previous reports of abuse made to |

| | | |Adult Protective Services or Long-term Care Ombudsman, or |

| | | |previous contact with law enforcement system. |

|Required Reports |The Child DRT is required to issue an annual report to the |No reports are required by the state. In the past, the DV |No reports are required by the state. |

| |Board of Supervisors and to the State Child Death Review |DRT has been asked to submit annual reports to the Family | |

| |Council, which issues an annual state-wide report to the |Violence Council if any cases were reviewed that year. | |

| |Governor and Attorney General's Office. | | |

-----------------------

City and County of San Francisco

Department on the Status of Women

Mayor Gavin Newsom

Executive Director Emily M. Murase, PhD

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download