Examples of Fatality Review Team Recommendations of Importance to Forensic Psychiatry
| Topic | Example | State |
|---|---|---|
| Neonaticide | Development of Secret Safe Place for Newborns,18 allowing mothers to leave newborns < 3 days old at hospital or emergency departments with no questions asked. Similar Safe Haven programs have since developed in all 50 states.26 | Alabama |
| Neonaticide and infanticide | Development of programs for infant homicide prevention and Safe Havens.18 | North Carolina |
| Youth homicide | Work with school districts for prevention.18 | Pennsylvania |
| Child survivors | Services for child survivors for mourning and grief.18 | California |
| Domestic violence fatalities committed with firearms | Collaboration with groups to strengthen the process regarding firearm storage and relinquishment practices in cases where someone had been prohibited from possessing firearms.9 | Vermont |
| Domestic violence | Recommendations from Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team include “mental health professionals, suicide specialists, and domestic violence programs should collaborate to provide cross-training to each other and to increase their ability to provide the appropriate range of services to domestic violence victims who are suicidal or have other mental health concerns” (Ref. 8, p 9), and routine screening for domestic violence when women presented as suicidal or depressed. | Washington |
| Domestic violence risk assessment | Passage of statutes requiring law enforcement officers to utilize the lethality assessment protocol when responding to domestic violence calls,27 and recommending more medical education regarding warning signs of domestic violence and risk of future homicide in cases of strangulation.30 | Oklahoma |