Interagency child death review.

Existing law authorizes a county to establish an interagency child death review team to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing suspicious child deaths and facilitating communication among persons who perform autopsies and the various persons and agencies involved in child abuse or neglect cases. Existing law requires records that are exempt from disclosure to 3rd parties pursuant to state or federal law to remain exempt from disclosure when they are in the possession of a child death review team. This bill would authorize the voluntary disclosure of specified information, including mental health records, criminal history information, and child abuse reports, by an individual or agency to an interagency child death review team. The bill would provide that written or oral information disclosed to a child death review team pursuant to these provisions would remain confidential, and would not be subject to disclosure or discovery by a 3rd party unless otherwise required by law. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.