State Advisory Team

* Purpose of the State Advisory Team *
* Participation on the Citizen Review Panel *

The Michigan Child Death State Advisory Team (2006)

Chair: Ted Forrest Manager Children's Protective Services Program Michigan Department of Human Services Grand Tower Building, Suite 510 235 South Grand Avenue Lansing, MI 48909
David Blocker Investigator Office of the Children’s Ombudsman Michigan National Tower First Floor, Suite 100 P.O. Box 30026 Lansing, MI 48909	Sgt. Gregory Jones Prevention Services Section Michigan State Police 714 South Harrison Rd. East Lansing, MI 48823
G. Paul Cloutier Director Office of Native American Affairs MI Department of Human Services 235 Grand Avenue, Suite 515 Lansing, MI 48909	Joseph Marshall, MD Professor Department of OB/GYN Michigan State University College of Human Medicine 227 West Fee Hall East Lansing, MI 48824
Teri Covington, MPH Senior Program Director Child and Adolescent Health Michigan Public Health Institute 2438 Woodlake Circle, Suite 240 Okemos, MI 48864	Dr. Vincent J. Palusci, MD, MS Medical Director Child Protection Center Children's Hospital of Michigan Professor/Wayne State Univ. 3901 Beaubien Blvd., Suite 1K40 Detroit, MI 48201-2119
Brenda R. Fink, ACSW Director Div. of Family & Community Health MI Department of Community Health Washington Square Building 109 Michigan Ave. Lansing, MI 48933	Margaret Penninger Assistant Prosecutor, Berrien County Berrien County Courthouse 811 Port St St Joseph, MI 49085
Sandra Frank, JD Executive Director Tomorrow's Child 824 N. Capitol Lansing, MI 48906	D/Sgt Nancy Stimson Lapeer County Sheriff's Department 3231 John Conley Drive Lapeer, MI 48446
Shirley Mann Gray Manager of Social Work Services Children’s Hospital of Michigan 3901 Beaubien Detroit, MI 48201	Frank Vandervort Program Director MI Child Welfare Law Resource Center 313 Legal Research Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1215
Virginia R. Harmon Deputy Director (retired) MI Department of Community Health 3423 N Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Lansing, MI 48909	Jacqueline Wood Early Childhood Education Consultant Michigan Department of Education 608 West Allegan Lansing, MI 48933
Brian Hunter, MD Forensic Pathologist Sparrow Health Systems Department of Pathology 1215 E Michigan Ave Lansing, MI 48912	Steve Yager Office of Family Advocate MI Department of Human Services 235 South Grand Avenue, Suite 1512 Lansing, MI 48909

Purpose of State Advisory Team

The purpose of the State Advisory Team is to provide guidance, expertise and consultation in analyzing and understanding the causes, trends and system responses to child fatalities, and to make recommendations in law, policy and practice to prevent child deaths in Michigan. The committee also provides support to local teams, recommends improvements in protocols and procedures for the Keeping Kids Alive program and reviews Michigan's child mortality data as well as local child death review team reports to identify causes, risk factors and trends in child deaths. The State Advisory Team is responsible for preparing an annual reportthat is presented to the Governor and the Legislature on child fatalities in Michigan. The Michigan Department of Human Services has administrative responsibility for the team.

Participation on Citizen Review Panel

Many of the people who serve on the State Advisory Team additionally participate on the Citizen Review Panel (CRP) on Child Fatalities. The Federal Government mandated the formation of this and two other Panels in 1999, for the purpose of providing an opportunity for citizens to aid in ensuring that states meet goals of protecting children from abuse and neglect by evaluating the strengths, weaknesses and challenges in the child welfare delivery system. This CRP meets quarterly, reviewing and examining the identified cases of child abuse and neglect that have occurred within a given year. At the end of the calendar year the Panel compiles their findings and recommendations in a report that is presented to the Department of Human Services for their knowledge and consideration, in hopes of improving the child welfare system in Michigan.

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