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Child Fatality Registry
MDHHS is required by Michigan Compiled Law-Section 722.627b to maintain a public registry of statistical information on
child deaths. This registry is updated annually and includes data for the previous two calendar years.
Important: There is a one-year reporting delay. The current report covers calendar years 2023 and 2024.
To request data from earlier years, email: MDHHS-FOIA@michigan.gov.
MCL - Section 722.627b
(11) The department shall establish and maintain a registry of statistical information regarding children's deaths that shall be accessible to the public. The registry created in this section shall not disclose any identifying information and shall only include statistical information covering all the following:
(a) The number of children who died while under court jurisdiction for child abuse or neglect regardless of placement setting.
(b) The number of children who died as a result of child abuse or neglect after a parent had one or more child protective services complaints within the two years preceding the child's death and the category dispositions of those complaints.
(c) The total number of children as identified in subdivisions (a) and (b) who died in the preceding year.
(d) The child protective services disposition of the child fatality.
This chart illustrates items (a) and (b) of MCL Section 722.627b. It compares three categories of child fatality related data for 2023 and 2024. Overall, all three categories show small increases in 2023 to 2024.
Child Death Disposition History
This chart shows the case history of the legal parents of children who died as a result of abuse or neglect. It displays the categories of the prior CPS complaints within the two years preceding each child's death.
The data is grouped by disposition categories (Category I through Category V) as well as those cases that did not meet criteria for assignment including rejected complaints, complaints transferred to another agency or those that were accepted and linked to an already open investigation.
This chart illustrates how prior CPS involvement varied by severity and outcome. Most complaints fall into non-substantiated categories, while a smaller portion are classified as indicating confirmed abuse or neglect.
For additional information on category dispositions please see MCL 722.628d.