Commissioners Receive Update, Recommendations to Prevent Deaths Among Buncombe Children
The Board of Commissioners received the 2023 Annual Report from the Buncombe County Community Child Protection Team/Child Fatality Prevention Team (CCPT/CFPT) at their June 4 meeting.
The team reviews records of all deaths of children from birth to age 18 who are Buncombe County residents at the time of their deaths as well as selected cases in which children are being served by Buncombe County Child Protective Services. The purpose of these reviews is to develop a community-wide approach to child abuse and neglect, understand the causes of child deaths, identify service gaps or deficiencies, and recommend programs, policies, and laws to prevent future child abuse, neglect, and death. In 2023 and the early months of 2024, the Buncombe County CCPT/CFPT reviewed the deaths of 24 children who lived in the county at the time of their death in 2022. Five additional child deaths from 2022 have not yet been reviewed, as per state guidelines. Four of these cases are still pending in the NC Medical Examiner System, awaiting documents like autopsy and toxicology reports.
A review of these tragic cases identified some high-level focus areas including deaths related to unsecured firearms, youth suicide, and unsafe sleep. In her report to Commissioners, Dr. Jennifer Mullendore, Buncombe County Medical Director, stated, “Addressing youth suicide has been a significant challenge for our team as well as unsafe sleep.”
There were 29 fatalities in total, including 12 infants. The predominant causes of death were illness, accidents (e.g., two drowning deaths, two accidental poisonings involving fentanyl, an accidental fatal handgun injury from an unsecured firearm, and trauma from a motor vehicle collision), and perinatal conditions (e.g., premature births). In 2022, Buncombe County child fatalities disproportionately impacted the Black population. When focusing in on infant mortality (deaths of children < 1 year of age) during the five-year period of 2018-2022, Black infants in Buncombe County were 2.36 times more likely to die before their first birthday than white infants. Efforts focused on Black maternal and infant health, social determinants of health, and racism need to continue.
Youth suicide continues to be a concern for our community with four deaths by suicide in 2022 and three deaths by suicide in the first half of 2023. The team sponsored a Youth Suicide Prevention Community Conversation in May 2023 that pulled together representatives from a variety of agencies that serve Buncombe County youth. Local school systems, community partners, and Buncombe County staff continue to take steps to address youth mental health and suicide.
Accidental injuries and deaths due to unsecured firearms also have significant impacts in Buncombe County. To help elevate the need for safe firearm storage and prevention of gun violence, team representatives partnered with other local governmental and nongovernmental agencies to promote safe firearm storage as part of the NC SAFE Campaign and are coming together again on June 7 for a Safe Summer Kickoff event. Free gun locks will be distributed at the event.
Since 2016, Buncombe County has had one to three infant fatalities annually related to unsafe sleep conditions. Co-sleeping has been the predominant risk factor in these fatalities in recent years. The team continues to distribute Safe Sleep NC materials to medical providers and community partners to assist them in educating parents and caregivers on safe sleep recommendations.
Buncombe County’s tragic loss of youth lives is a significant loss for all of us and these trends are not unique to Buncombe County. In summary, Dr. Mullendore says: “While Buncombe County’s trend is consistent with the rest of North Carolina counties, there are areas where we can improve our systems and education to prevent youth fatalities. These fatalities are not inevitable; they are preventable. Complex societal issues like mental health and firearm storage impact children and families that we know and love. We encourage conversations and actions in households, neighborhoods, faith communities, and in board rooms to prevent child fatalities. We all have a role to play in protecting our youth.”
The Buncombe County Community Child Protection Team/Child Fatality Prevention Team (CCPT/CFPT) recommendations and the full report can be found here: