Title
Vote to confirm designation of Child Fatality Prevention Team/Community Child Protection Team as a single-county team
Abstract
Introduction & Background: The NC Child Fatality Prevention System is a statewide multi-disciplinary system that was developed in the 1990’s consisting of the North Carolina Child Fatality Prevention Team, North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force and local teams (CFPTs and CCPTs).
N.C.G.S. 7B Article 14 defines the membership composition of CCPTs and CFPTs, statutorily required to represent disciplines among the community, as well as the responsibilities and duties of the local CFPT to review resident county child fatalities, assess potential gaps in systems and policies that may have contributed to the deaths, and make recommendations to policy makers to improve local and statewide systems to better protect children and prevent future deaths.
Passed in 2023, changes to the law via the 2023 Appropriations Act [Section 9H.15 of Session Law 2023-124] now required all Boards of County Commissioners to determine if the local team proceeds as a single or multicounty team.
Discussion & Analysis: Chatham’s team, which like other teams across the state has historically operated as a single-county team, recommends remaining a single-county team given the nature of the work, the importance of local partnerships, and the makeup of the team’s membership. The recent legislative change to allow multi-county teams was primarily intended to benefit very small counties or regions where the health department serves multiple counties (e.g., health districts). No neighboring counties have reached out to Chatham representatives with interest in establishing a multi-county team.
How does this relate to the Comprehensive Plan: Plan Goal #10: Foster a healthy community.
Budgetary Impact: N/A
Recommendation: Motion to confirm designation of Child Fatality Prevention Team/Community Child Protection Team as a single-county team.