Child Fatality Prevention System (CFPS) Annual Meeting Minutes

Crowley/Otero Child Fatality Prevention System (CFPS)
Annual Meeting Minutes
January 31, 2025, 11:30 am to 1 pm
Otero County Courthouse
13 W 3rd St., Room 107, La Junta

MINUTES

1. Call to Order:  A quorum being present, the meeting was called to order by Rick Ritter.
2. Roll Call:  Members present were Tonia Burnett, Sarah Dillon, Bob Fowler, Gary Gibson, Dee Leyba, Dr. Janell Maier, Marie Mora-Menges (Vice-Chair), Mike Perez, Rick Ritter (Chair), Donna Rohde, Nathan Shultz, J.D.
   Others in attendance were Chris Menges, OCHD Substance Use Disorder Program Director, and Olivia Preston, intern with Nathan Shultz, J.D.
3. Public Notice Posting (Pursuant to C.R.S. 24-6-402 (2)(c)): This agenda was posted in the designated public locations in all OCHD offices and on the website by 1/28/2024.
4. Public Comments for Items not on the Agenda: There were no public comments for items not on the agenda.
5. Old Business: None
6. New Business
   1. Approval of Minutes (ACTION ITEM)
      1. December 30th, 2024, CFPS RT Meeting (previously sent on 1/27/2025): Donna Rohde moved to approve the 12/30/2024 CFPS RT Minutes, Tonia Burnett seconded, motion carried.
   2. 2026 RT Annual Meeting: The 2026 RT Annual Meeting will be held on Friday, January 30th, 2026, from 11:30am-1:00pm in Ordway, exact location to be determined. RT members were encouraged to mark their calendars ASAP to save the date.
   3. 2025 Reviewable Cases: Currently, there are 5 Otero County child fatality cases, assigned by CDPHE, that must be reviewed in 2025. Per RT Operational Guidelines, all of these reviews will take place in Otero County. The RT also agreed to review a Crowley County death that has not been assigned by CDPHE. This review will take place after the CDPHE-assigned Otero County cases, and the review will take place in Crowley County.
   4. Child Fatality Review Process: This will be reviewed at the annual meetings.
      1. Reviewable Cases: One of the primary duties of local child fatality review teams is to conduct case-specific, individual reviews of all preventable child deaths. This includes:
         1. Undetermined cases.
         2. Unintentional injury (i.e., drowning, falls, fires, poisoning).
         3. Violence (i.e., homicide, any firearm death).
         4. Motor vehicle crashes or transportation-related deaths.
         5. Child maltreatment (abuse or neglect).
         6. Sudden unexpected infant deaths (e.g. sleep-related deaths).
         7. Suicide.
      2. Overview of Review Process
         1. Upon receipt of email notifying local teams of case assignment, access the FTP site to view the death certificate.
         2. Obtain and review full death certificate.
         3. Schedule a meeting date amenable to the majority of RT members.
         4. Contact agencies that have a history with child/family.
         5. Request and review documents from appropriate agencies.
         6. Invite appropriate individuals to serve as ad hoc members to give overview of matter to RT.
         7. Generate a case summary for RT.
         8. Perform data entry on the National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Deaths website.
         9. Local RT case review and prevention recommendation(s).
         10. Review data entry on National Center website for quality assurance (clean the data).
         11. Finalize data entry on National Center website.
         12. Close case.
         13. Implement prevention recommendations, if any.
   5. 2025 Public Notice Posting Placements (Pursuant to C.R.S. 24-6-402(2)(c) (ACTION ITEM): Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) 24-6-402(2)(c)(III) states “…a local public body shall be deemed to have given full and timely notice of a public meeting if the local public body posts the notice, with specific agenda information if available, no less than twenty-four hours prior to the holding of the meeting on a public website of the local public body… A local public body that posts a notice of a public meeting on a public website pursuant to this subsection (2)(c)(III) may in its discretion also post a notice by any other means including in a designated public place pursuant to subsection (2)(c)(I) of this section; except that nothing in this section shall be construed to require such other posting. A local public body that posts notices of public meetings on a public website pursuant to this subsection (2)(c)(III) shall designate a public place within the boundaries of the local public body at which it may post a notice no less than twenty-four hours prior to a meeting if it is unable to post a notice online in exigent or emergency circumstances such as a power outage or an interruption in internet service that prevents the public from accessing the notice online.”  C.R.S. 25-4-402(2)(c)(I) states “…In addition to any other means of full and timely notice, a local public body shall be deemed to have given full and timely notice if the notice of the meeting is posted in a designated public place within the boundaries of the local public body no less than twenty-four hours prior to the holding of the meeting. The public place or places for posting such notice shall be designated annually at the local public body’s first regular meeting of each calendar year…”
      1. The essence of these statutes is as follows:
         1. With online posting, you do not have to post notices physically unless digital posting is temporarily not available due to technology/emergency issues. OCHD posts digital notices.
            1. The RT must designate a location(s) to post physical notices if the situation warrants.
         2. In addition to digital posting, the RT may continue to post physical notices. If this choice is made, then the RT must designate the physical locations on an annual basis at their first meeting of the calendar year.
      2. Rick Ritter respectfully recommended the following to the RT:
         1. Continue with regular physical postings. This will then serve to meet the physical posting requirements for technology/emergency issues that interfere with digital posting.
         2. Previously, the RT has approved the OCHD lobby area for the La Junta and Rocky Ford offices and the hall adjacent to the Crowley County Commissioners’ office. These locations are conspicuous to the public, and Rick Ritter recommended these same locations to the RT for 2025.
      3. Tonia Burnett moved to approve the posting recommendations as detailed above, Dr. Maier seconded, motion carried.
   6. 1/31/2025 RT Member Roster Ratification (ACTION ITEM): Annually the RT will review required membership on the RT and confirm members. Colorado Revised Statute 25-20.5-404 (3)(a) stipulates that “A local or regional review team must include representatives from the following entities located within the service area of the establishing county or district public health agency or agencies:
      1. Each county department;
      2. Local law enforcement agencies;
      3. The district attorney’s office;
      4. (IV) School districts;
      5. Each county department of public health;
      6. Each coroner’s office or county medical examiner’s office; and
      7. Each county attorney’s office.”
   7. The 1/31/2025 DRAFT membership roster does not reflect membership from all required agencies, namely the District Attorney’s Office and the school district(s). Rick Ritter will reach out to these agencies to fill the vacancies.
   8. Colorado Revised Statute 25-20.5-404 (3)(b) states that “A local or regional review team may include but is not limited to representatives from the following entities or groups located within the service area of the establishing county or district public health agency or agencies:
      1. Hospitals, trauma centers, or other providers of emergency medical services;
      2. Each county board of human or social services;
      3. Mental health professionals;
      4. Medical professionals specializing in pediatrics;
      5. Each court-appointed special advocate program;
      6. Child advocacy centers;
      7. Private out-of-home placement providers;
      8. Victim advocates associated with law enforcement agencies; and
      9. The community at large.
   9. Gary Gibson moved to confirm the 1/31/2025 DRAFT CFPS RT membership roster, Nathan Shultz, J.D. seconded, motion carried.
   10. Ad Hoc Members: Local Review Teams may designate ad hoc members. Since ad hoc members are not permanent, they do not regularly receive local review team notices. They attend meetings only when they have been directly involved in a case that is scheduled for review or to provide information on team-related activities. Ad hoc members provide valuable information without increasing the number of permanent local review team members. They may be child protective service workers involved in a specific case, law enforcement officers that handled a case or a child advocate who worked with a family. All ad hoc members must sign a confidentiality form prior to participating in a child fatality review meeting.
   11. Local Review Team Member Roles: Annually the RT will review member roles. The role of local review team members can be flexible to meet the needs of particular communities. The individual abilities of members should be tapped to enhance team effectiveness. The role of team members is to:
       1. Prior to the review, contribute information from his or her records.
       2. Serve as a liaison for their respective agency.
       3. Provide definitions of professional terminology.
       4. Interpret agency procedures and policies.
       5. Explain the legal responsibilities or limitations of his or her profession.
       6. Assist in the creation of prevention recommendations.
       7. Advocate for the implementation of prevention recommendations.
   12. Each local review team member must maintain a clear understanding of their own role and the role of other professionals and agencies in the community's response to a child fatality. In addition, local review team members need to be aware of and respect the expertise and resources offered by each profession and agency represented on the team. The integration of these roles is critical to a well-coordinated community child fatality review system.
   13. 2025 RT Officers’ Election (ACTION ITEM): Tonia Burnett moved to nominate Rick Ritter for Chair and Marie Mora-Menges for Vice-Chair of the CFPS RT for 2025, Gary Gibson seconded, seconded, motion carried.
   14. Addendum/Addenda
       1. Advance Notice of Case Names: It was noted that it would be very helpful for advance preparation for RT members to know the names of specific cases to be reviewed prior to the actual review meeting. After thoughtful discussion on how to accomplish this, it was decided that Google Docs would be utilized, with encrypted email serving as a backup. Dr. Maier will follow up with Josh Mauer, Triad Computer Services, regarding confidentiality matters related to Google Docs.
7. Executive Session: None
8. Adjournment: With no further business, Rick Ritter adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully Submitted,

Richard Ritter

Chair, Crowley/Otero Child Fatality Prevention System Local Review Team