The Senate Family and Children Services Committee heard SB 131 on Department of Child Services reporting authored by Sen. Broden and Sen. Grooms. Sen. Broden stated this legislation would define near fatalities to include “life threatening” injuries.” “Life threatening” includes those which are categorized as “serious” or “critical” in hospital records or those which result in critical treatment for not less than 24 hours and are certified by a physician as being life threatening. An amendment was adopted by consent that would not open the record of a near fatality if there is an ongoing investigation in a child abuse case. A second amendment was adopted by consent that would prevent Indiana’s federal funding for DCS services to be jeopardized by the state’s definition of “near fatality” if it did not match the federal definition.
The Hoosier Press Association supported the bill and DCS indicated the new definition complied with federal law. The bill passed as amended, 7-0.
Read the bill at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2016/bills/senate/131