Decatur, GA – The Annual Child Fatality Review Panel strategic planning meeting will take place today at the Marriott Evergreen Conference Center.  The meeting will focus on the prevention of infant deaths caused by co-sleeping.  The 17 member panel, chaired by Cobb Superior Court Judge LaTain Kell, includes State Senator Gloria Butler and State Representative Mandi Ballinger.  During the meeting, panel members will discuss how to make the public more aware of the dangers of co-sleeping with infants.  In 2013, the most recent year for which statistics are available, out of 155 infant deaths reviewed in Georgia, 139 of the deaths were sleep related with 86 caused by co-sleeping. 

In 2014 the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which oversees the work of the panel, received a grant from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to track Sudden Death of the Young (SDY).  The CDC has created a SDY Registry into which the GBI will upload information on all unexplained infant deaths in Georgia.  SDY Registry cases will require a standardized autopsy protocol, including consent and collection of a bio specimen, and an extended investigation of individual and family medical history.

This afternoon media will be able to video a portion of the meeting from 1:15 PM to 2:00 PM.  Judge Kell and Trebor Randle, the Special Agent in Charge of the GBI’s Child Fatality Review Unit, will be available for interviews at 2:00 PM.

# # # # #

Contact Information:

Sherry Lang 404/270-8330