| North Carolina Child Fatality Prevention Team |
| Health and Human Services |
| The General Assembly finds that it is the public policy of
this State to prevent the abuse, neglect, and death of juveniles.
The General Assembly further finds that the prevention of the
abuse, neglect, and death of juveniles is a community
responsibility; that professionals from disparate disciplines
have responsibilities for children or juveniles and have
expertise that can promote their safety and well-being; and that
multidisciplinary reviews of the abuse, neglect, and death of
juveniles can lead to a greater understanding of the causes and
methods of preventing these deaths. It is, therefore, the intent
of the General Assembly, through this Article, to establish a
statewide multidisciplinary, multiagency child fatality
prevention system consisting of the State Team established in
G.S. 7B-1404 and the Local Teams established in G.S. 7B-1406. The
purpose of the system is to assess the records of selected cases
in which children are being served by child protective services
and the records of all deaths of children in North Carolina from
birth to age 18 in order to (i) develop a community wide approach
to the problem of child abuse and neglect, (ii) understand the
causes of childhood deaths, (iii) identify any gaps or
deficiencies that may exist in the delivery of services to
children and their families by public agencies that are designed
to prevent future child abuse, neglect, or death, and (iv) make
and implement recommendations for changes to laws, rules, and
policies that will support the safe and healthy development of
our children and prevent future child abuse, neglect, and death.
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