The Cuyahoga County Child Fatality Review Board is funded by the county's Office of Early Childhood and conducts individual case reviews of all deaths of children less than 18 years old. The board makes recommendations to develop community-based prevention strategies, and helps maintain links between the various provider agencies in the county. This important process is required of all counties by the Ohio Revised Code, and Cuyahoga County's program is among the more developed programs in the state.
The Case Review Process:
- Identifies opportunities for prevention and service coordination.
- Helps to better understands trend and contributing risk factors.
- Uncovers barriers and gaps in services, and between provider systems.
- Improves interagency communication and collaboration.
- Reports final data to the federal government and the State of Ohio.
Child Fatality Reports
Contact Information
Addressing and Preventing Child Abuse in Cuyahoga County: Toward a Coordinated Approach
Prepared by the Case Western Reserve University Schubert Center for Child Studies, in coordination with community partners and child advocates.
“Too many children living in Cuyahoga County suffer from abuse or neglect. Even more alarming, the rate of confirmed abuse or neglect-related child deaths in Cuyahoga County is significantly higher than the national average. Black and brown children are disproportionately victimized and represented in these child abuse rates. A suspected history of child abuse or neglect and/or domestic violence in the home are among the top risk factors for child homicides, and yet these risk factors and other early warning signs are too often missed by providers.”