A child death review team follows three stages of development to achieve its goal of reducing the number of preventable child deaths in the community:

  1.  Organization.

 2.  Operation.

 3. Initiation of prevention efforts and strategies developed from team findings.

Once a team has been established and its operating procedures are thoroughly understood, maintenance of the team is essential. Some recommendation for maintaining a functional review team follow.

Respect Team Agreements

For a team to operate effectively, it is essential that team agreements be recognized and followed by all team members.

Participate and Be Prepared for Meetings

Reviews require regular attendance and participation by all team members. Members should become acquainted with the questions that will be addressed at every review and come prepared to present their agency’s information and perspectives. Prior to each meeting, team members should gather relevant information on each case on the agenda.

Keep Regular Meeting Schedules

Regularly scheduled meetings allow team members to make long-term plans and allow for better attendance. Canceling scheduled meetings diminishes a team's ability to gather information and hinders the cooperative networking of the members. A team can only achieve its objectives by meeting routinely.

Provide an Educational Element at Team Meetings

 Keep members informed of team-related training, changes in laws regarding their professions and new child death or injury prevention programs. Ongoing education should be an integral part of every review team’s operation. Periodical presentations and informative handouts enhance a team's ability to accomplish its objectives.

Use the Michigan Network of Review Teams

When a team needs information on a case or identifies trends, be sure to contact other teams for suggestions on how they handled a problem or to obtain input on innovative team efforts.

Use Professional Associations Represented on Teams

Professional associations can answer questions on many aspects of the responsibilities and statutes that govern a profession; use them as resources.

Use the State Child Death Review Program Office and the State Advisory Team

The State Child Death Review Program is in place to provide technical assistance, linkages to professional resources, and coordination with other county teams.

Complete Your Case Report in a Timely Manner

This report becomes your county’s database on child fatalities. By completing it accurately, you will be developing a rich source of information on all your county’s child deaths. This information will help your county and the state in recommending policy, practice and programs for child health, safety, and protection.

Provide Other Members with Support

Each profession brings to the review team its perspective, professional knowledge and expertise. It is support, not criticism, which will encourage change and foster improvements. Realize that, disagreement between members is sometimes unavoidable, but if handled appropriately, can help the team to function effectively. It is the responsibility of the team coordinator to reinforce productive exchanges and discourage dialogue disruptive to the review process. Each member must acknowledge and respect the professional role of each participating agency. Improvements will come through cooperative effort, not through coercion.

Do Not Lose Sight of the Team's Purpose and Objectives

A periodic review of a team’s stated purpose, goals and objectives will provide direction to the team and remind members why the team was originally formed.

Team Membership Is a Long-Term Commitment

A review team is not an ad‑hoc committee that collects data on child deaths for a designated period. It is a panel of professionals dedicated to establishing a better understanding of the causes of child deaths in their community. Discovering the patterns that cause or contribute to preventable child deaths is an ongoing process. Patterns change over time within a community. The aggregate knowledge acquired by team members provides structure for achieving effective results.

A Team Is Both a Message to the Community and a Message from the Community

By participating on a child death review team, local professionals who take responsibility for the protection, health, and safety of their community's children communicate their pledge to better understand child deaths. Their participation represents their commitment to eliminating obstacles to integrated community responses to child deaths and to creating opportunities to prevent deaths to other children.