Half of child deaths left unreviewed in Pa. since 2020 as counties struggle with 'unfunded mandate'

Many Pennsylvania counties are failing to review the death of every child in their area, despite a 2008 state law that requires them to do so.The problem, advocates and program participants say, is a lack of both state assistance in collecting data and time for volunteers to run the local panels.Gov. Josh Shapiro wants the legislature to approve $2.5 million to improve this work, but it’s unclear if the request will be considered a priority this year.The effort to study the deaths of Pennsylvania children dates back about two decades, when the state passed a law mandating counties host a local board of healthcare professionals, law enforcement officials, child protective service providers, and a coroner or medical examiner to review the deaths of every resident under the age of 21. The law was one of several initiatives spurred by the murder of Berks County toddler Maxwell Fisher in 1996.

Based on the information county boards gather, members are charged with creating strategies for local and state policymakers to prevent similar deaths.But reports shared with Spotlight PA by the Pennsylvania Department of Health show that since 2020, roughly half of childhood deaths statewide have not been reviewed. Those lapses are especially prominent in rural counties, where local teams are more likely to falter or not exist.