71-3407. Team; purposes; duties; powers.
(1) The purposes of the team shall be to (a) develop an understanding of the causes and incidence of child or maternal deaths in this state, (b) develop recommendations for changes within relevant agencies and organizations which may serve to prevent child or maternal deaths, and (c) advise the Governor, the Legislature, and the public on changes to law, policy, and practice which will prevent child or maternal deaths.
(2) The team shall:
(a) Undertake annual statistical studies of the causes and incidence of child or maternal deaths in this state. The studies shall include, but not be limited to, an analysis of the records of community, public, and private agency involvement with the children, the pregnant or postpartum women, and their families prior to and subsequent to the child or maternal deaths;
(b) Develop a protocol for retrospective investigation of child or maternal deaths by the team;
(c) Develop a protocol for collection of data regarding child or maternal deaths by the team;
(d) Consider training needs, including cross-agency training, and service gaps;
(e) Include in its annual report recommended changes to any law, rule, regulation, or policy needed to decrease the incidence of preventable child or maternal deaths;
(f) Educate the public regarding the incidence and causes of child or maternal deaths, the public role in preventing child or maternal deaths, and specific steps the public can undertake to prevent child or maternal deaths. The team may enlist the support of civic, philanthropic, and public service organizations in the performance of its educational duties;
(g) Provide the Governor, the Legislature, and the public with annual reports which shall include the team's findings and recommendations for each of its duties. The team shall provide the annual report on or before each September 15. The reports submitted to the Legislature shall be submitted electronically; and
(h) When appropriate, make referrals to those agencies as required in section 28-711 or as otherwise required by state law.
(3) The team may enter into consultation agreements with relevant experts to evaluate the information and records collected by the team. All of the confidentiality provisions of section 71-3411 shall apply to the activities of a consulting expert.
(4) The team may enter into written agreements with entities to provide for the secure storage of electronic data based on information and records collected by the team, including data that contains personal or incident identifiers. Such agreements shall provide for the protection of the security and confidentiality of the content of the information, including access limitations, storage of the information, and destruction of the information. All of the confidentiality provisions of section 71-3411 shall apply to the activities of the data storage entity.
(5) The team may enter into agreements with a local public health department as defined in section 71-1626 to act as the agent of the team in conducting all information gathering and investigation necessary for the purposes of the Child and Maternal Death Review Act. All of the confidentiality provisions of section 71-3411 shall apply to the activities of the agent.
(6) For purposes of this section, entity means an organization which provides collection and storage of data from multiple agencies but is not solely controlled by the agencies providing the data.
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