Tenn. adopts new plan for reviewing child deaths
Apr 26, 2013, 8:59 PM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The children’s services department in Tennessee is adopting a new plan for investigating child deaths after facing months of criticism for failures that included not knowing how many in its care had died.
The criticism culminated in the February resignation of the agency’s commissioner. The department says the new plan for reporting is faster and more effective.
The department is involved in two lawsuits seeking more information about how it deals with deaths.
The reviews are supposed to help the department recognize shortcomings and prevent future deaths. However, some employees involved in the reviews have said they are nearly useless.
The new protocol requires reviews to be conducted within 90 days of a death. It also looks for weaknesses in the system, rather than just individual wrongdoing.
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