22a-243. State child death review board; executive director; development of protocol; annual report; confidentiality of records; rules and regulations.
22a-243
22a-243. State child death review board; executive director; developmentofprotocol; annual report; confidentiality of records; rules and regulations.(a) There is hereby established a state child death reviewboard, which shall be composed of:
(1) One member appointed by each of the following officers to represent theofficer's agency: The attorney general, the director of the Kansas bureau ofinvestigation, the secretary of social and rehabilitation services, thesecretary of health and environment and the commissioner of education;
(2) three members appointed by the state board of healing arts, one of whomshall be a district coroner and two of whom shall be physicians licensed topractice medicine and surgery, one specializing in pathology and the otherspecializing in pediatrics;
(3) one person appointed by the attorney general to represent advocacygroups which focus attention on child abuse awareness and prevention; and
(4) one county or district attorney appointed by the Kansas county anddistrict attorneys association.
(b) The chairperson of the state review board shall be the member appointedby the attorney general to represent the office of the attorney general.
(c) The state child death review board shall be within the office of theattorneygeneral as a part thereof. All budgeting, purchasing and related managementfunctions of the board shall be administered under the direction andsupervision of the attorney general. All vouchers for expenditures and allpayrolls of the board shall be approved by the chairperson of the board and bythe attorney general.The state review board shall establish and maintain an office inTopeka.
(d) The state review board shall meet at least annually toreview all reports submitted to the board. The chairperson of the state reviewboard may call a special meeting of the board at any time to review any reportof a child death.
(e) Within the limits of appropriations therefor, the state review boardshall appoint an executive director who shallbe in the unclassified service of the Kansas civil service act and shallreceive an annual salary fixed by the state review board.
(f) Within the limits of appropriations therefor,the statereview board may employ other persons who shall be in the classified service ofthe Kansas civil service act.
(g) Members of the state review board shallnot receive compensation, subsistence allowances, mileage and expenses asprovidedby K.S.A. 75-3223 and amendments thereto for attending meetings orsubcommittee meetings of the board.
(h) The state review board shall develop a protocol to be usedby the statereview board. The protocol shall include writtenguidelines for coroners to use in identifying any suspicious deaths,procedures to be used by the boardin investigating child deaths, methods to ensure coordination and cooperationamong all agencies involved in child deaths and procedures for facilitatingprosecution of perpetrators when it appears the cause of a child's death wasfrom abuse or neglect.The protocol shall be adopted by the state review board by rules andregulations.
(i) The state review board shall submit an annual report to thegovernor andthe legislature on or before October 1 of each year, commencing October 1993. Such report shall include the findings of the board regarding reports of childdeaths, the board'sanalysis and the board's recommendations for improving child protection,including recommendations for modifying statutes, rules and regulations,policies and procedures.
(j) Information acquired by, and records of, the state reviewboard shall be confidential, shall not be disclosed and shall not be subject tosubpoena, discovery or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminalproceeding, except that suchinformation and records may be disclosed to any member of the legislature orany legislative committee which has legislative responsibility of the enablingor appropriating legislation, carrying out such member's or committee'sofficial functions. The legislative committee, in accordance with K.S.A.75-4319and amendments thereto, shall recess for a closed or executive meeting toreceive and discuss information received by the committee pursuant to thissubsection.
(k) The state review board may adopt rules and regulations as necessary tocarry out the provisions of K.S.A. 22a-241 through 22a-244 andamendments thereto.
History: L. 1992, ch. 312, § 33;L. 1994, ch. 279, § 28; July 1.