Arkansas
Program Description
Administration
The Arkansas Child Death Review (CDR) Panel was established through passage of Arkansas Act 1818 of 2005 as a committee within the Arkansas (AR) Commission on Child Abuse, Rape and Domestic Violence. The panel is required to include members from nine specific professions and may include additional professionals as needed. The AR CDR Panel and the Injury Prevention Center (IPC) of AR Children’s Hospital provides oversight to the Arkansas Infant & Child Death Review (ICDR) Program which was started in 2011.
The director of the AR ICDR Program is Kristyn Jeffries, MD, who serves as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s.
The coordinator of the AR ICDR Program is Ashlee Jackson. Laura Taylor, MPH, is the Director of Community Impact and oversees administrative duties and the data collection process for the project.
Teams
State Level: Arkansas Infant & Child Death Review Program
The AR ICDR Program is the intermediary between the AR CDR Panel and the local ICDR teams. The program was established in 2011 and funding is provided by the Family Health Branch of the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH).
Local Teams:
Local teams are comprised of multi-disciplinary professionals that systematically collect, analyze and discern external factors that led to the infant/child’s death within the community. Currently there are eleven teams in Arkansas covering all 75 counties. Each team of volunteers has a director and coordinator and representatives from the following agencies and disciplines: the Crimes Against Children Division of the AR State Police; the AR Department of Human Services, Division of Children and Family Services; Emergency Medical Services; Law Enforcement; Medical Examiner; County coroners; Pediatrician (or nurse with specialized training); Prosecuting Attorney’s Office; and Public Health. Each team meets quarterly.
Reviews
To ensure a coordinated response that addresses all programmatic concerns surrounding pediatric deaths in Arkansas, the AR Legislature granted the AR CDR Panel and designees the authority to gather all relevant records necessary for comprehensive reviews to be performed. All records obtained for reviews are confidential.
Exceptions to team reviews include cases that are currently under criminal investigation or prosecution. The AR ICDR Program is notified of deaths through the release of death information (and corresponding birth information) from the Arkansas Department of Health, Health Statistics Branch. The AR ICDR Program then determines which deaths are ineligible for review (based on existing legislation) and forwards the eligible cases to the appropriate local team.
Vision Statement
Eliminate all preventable infant and child deaths in Arkansas.
Mission
To review all unexpected infant and child deaths in the state of Arkansas. These reviews result in the development of interventions and recommendations through multi-disciplinary team collaboration, community education, and policy.
Data
Eleven local teams have been established and perform case reviews. AR has a data use agreement with the Michigan Public Health Institute for internet-based data reporting and retrieval.
Annual Report
The AR ICDR Program produces an annual report in December.
Prevention Initiatives
Local multi-disciplinary and multi-agency reviews of infant and child deaths assist in improving pediatric death investigations; developing a greater understanding of the incidence and causes of these deaths; identifying prevention strategies; and identifying gaps in services to children and families. The AR ICDR collaborates with the IPC on prevention initiatives based on recommendations from local ICDR teams. Since FY 17 the ICDR program has developed statewide prevention initiatives to reduce child deaths. In FY 17 the safe sleep initiative was launched followed by suicide prevention in FY 18, and motor vehicle safety in 2021. The three specific campaigns will continue, through the ICDR, for the next 3 to 5 years.
Protocols
The AR ICDR Program, with the consensus of the CDR Panel, has developed a Standard Operating Procedure Manual (SOP)based on AR law, policy and best practices.
Training
The AR ICDR Program hosts an annual one and half day training for team members. Training topics vary year to year based on the needs of the program. One-on-one topic specific training is provided to individual teams as needed.
Last Updated: March 2026
Program Contact
Andrea Weston
Community Engagement Coordinator
Injury Prevention Center
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Center for Applied Research and Evaluation
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
1 Children’s Way, Slot 669
Little Rock, AR 72202-3591
Phone: 501-364-3388
Fax: 501-364-3112
Email: WestonAN@archildrens.org
Secondary contact:
Semeria Hill
Infant and Child Death Review Program Supervisor
Phone: 501-364-4013
Email: hillsa@archildrens.org
Website: https://www.archildrens.org/injury-prevention-center/infant-and-child-death-review
Tools
- Arkansas Child Death Review Legislation (Act 1818 of 2005)
- Arkansas Infant and Child Death Review Program Standard Operating Procedures, December 2012
- Team Map 2016
- Electronic SUID Form
Reports