News
Holiday Infant Safe Sleep Advisory
The holiday season is such a joyful time of year. Don’t let this season of celebration turn into a tragedy for your baby and family. The Michigan Infant Safe Sleep Advisory Team urges you to make sure your baby or the baby you care for always has a safe place to sleep at night and during naptime even as you travel or visit others.
To find out how, read Infant Safe Sleep Holiday Advisory.
New AAP Safe Sleep Guidelines
On October 18, 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced expanded guidelines for infant sleep safety and SIDS risk reduction. The news release provides more information.
Chicago Bans Sale of Crib Bumpers
Chicago became the first municipality in the nation to ban the sale of bumpers. Read more about it at http://moms.today.com/_news/2011/09/09/7690237-chicago-bans-crib-bumpers-will-you-bump-them-out-of-your-nursery.
September 2011 is Infant Safe Sleep Awareness Month in Michigan
Governor Rick Snyder proclaimed September 2011 as Infant Safe Sleep Awareness Month in Michigan. To read the proclamation, go to www.michigan.gov/snyder/0,4668,7-277-58031-261637--,00.html
Hearing on Maltreatment Deaths
On July 12, 2011 Teri Covington testified in front of Congress about child deaths due to maltreatment. The hearing took place at 10:00 a.m. in the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, in Washington D.C.
Due to the limited time available, oral testimony was invitation only. It was a great honor for Covington. Covington was one of six witnesses, including Law and Order SVU actress and advocate against child deaths Tamara Tunie.
Each witness read their testimony before the Subcommittee, and after each was done the subcommittee asked many questions on how these deaths could be avoided. They also asked for solutions so states could better report these deaths."The bottom line is that states are not reporting each child maltreatment death and that makes it hard to prevent these deaths in the future," said chairman Geoff Davis.
"We need to do a much better job working together at the local, state, and national level," stated Covington in her testimony. The hearing concluded that states need better data collection and state support.
Click here to read her testimony or watch the entire hearing
Power of One: Child Death Review Field Award 2011
Nancy Keller (left) and Joyce Lamar (right)
John Shaffer
Nancy Keller, Joyce Lamar and John Shaffer received their Power of One: Child Death Review Field Award 2011 from Shannon Stotenbur-Wing and Heidi Hilliard at the Annual Training at Crystal Mountain. The award recognizes outstanding individuals who have proven themselves to be truly committed to issues affecting children's health, safety and protection, and have supported the CDR process in their communities.
Click for the press release for Nancy Keller, Joyce Lamar or John Shaffer.
To see winner from past years, click here.
Infant sleep positioners:
Consumer Warning - Risk of Suffocation
Please read the MedWatch safety alert about Infant sleep positioners. Click here to read the FDA warning.
Prevention in Action
Gratiot and Branch Counties: While collecting information at their local Child Death Review Team meetings, both Gratiot and Branch Counties found that there were gaps in communication between responding entities when a child death had occurred. Some entities were not being notified of the death in a timely manner, thus hindering the completion of a thorough investigation, with input from all who might have information about the child, family, and/or incident. They realized that there were no formal protocols in place for their responding entities to follow in cases of child death.
They decided to address this issue. In both cases, someone from the county CDR team stepped up to create, with input from all parties involved, protocols for notification of the proper offices/agencies and what their respective responsibilities are, in the event of a 'child not breathing' call to 911 or the presentation of a child death of any kind to hospital ER. The two counties have gotten sign-off on the plans from those involved and have distributed them.
