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Infant and child death review shows unsafe sleep and unintentional injuries remain leading causes; ICDR panel issues recommendations
Summary
Kevin Cleghorn, chair of the state ICDR panel, presented the ICDR’s 2022 annual report showing 453 child deaths (ages 0–17) in 2022 with 172 cases reviewed by ICDR teams and unsafe sleep, motor‑vehicle restraint failures, drownings and fentanyl poisoning among leading preventable causes.
Kevin Cleghorn, chairman of the Arkansas state Infant and Child Death Review (ICDR) state panel, presented the ICDR annual report (cases from 2022) to the joint Aging, Children, Youth and Legislative Affairs Committee.
Cleghorn said the ICDR’s mandate is to review unexpected infant and child deaths across Arkansas. The annual report, coordinated by Arkansas Children’s under contract with the Arkansas Department of Health, covers cases that meet criteria established by Act 1818 of 2005. For deaths that are under criminal adjudication, the statute prevents review until the adjudication is complete.
Key figures presented in the report: 453 deaths of children ages 0–17 occurred in 2022; 255 were ruled natural and thus outside ICDR review. Of the remaining deaths, 198 met ICDR review criteria; 26 of those were under criminal investigation or prosecution and therefore could not be reviewed; ICDR teams completed reviews of the remaining 172 deaths.
Among reviewed cases, ICDR classified 87 as accidents (including motor‑vehicle crashes, drownings, poisonings and asphyxia), 13 as suicides, and 9 as homicides (the panel noted a larger total homicide count but said only nine were reviewable in the ICDR dataset). Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and unsafe sleep environments were major contributors to infant deaths: infants under 1 accounted for more than one‑third of reviewed deaths. The panel highlighted unsafe sleep practices — co‑sleeping and placing infants on their side or stomach — as common factors.
Other findings: motor‑vehicle‑related deaths frequently involved lack of appropriate restraints (seat belts, boosters or correct car‑seat use) in more than half of reviewed motor‑vehicle fatalities. Unintentional drownings rose to 19 deaths in 2022, nearly double the prior year; ICDR reviews commonly noted lack of adequate supervision. Five of nine reviewed unintentional poisonings/overdose deaths involved fentanyl, an increase from the prior year.
The ICDR report includes recommendations (beginning on page 32 of the full report) intended to guide agencies and communities on prevention, education and system changes. Cleghorn emphasized that case reviews draw on multiple sources—death and birth certificates, autopsy and toxicology reports, scene investigations and interviews—and that the ICDR’s purpose is to identify prevention opportunities to reduce future deaths.
Why it matters: The report highlights persistent preventable causes of death (unsafe sleep, inadequate supervision around water, vehicle‑restraint misuse and rising fentanyl exposure) and furnishes agency and community recommendations to target prevention efforts.
Committee members asked about intervention strategies such as swim‑lesson access and breastfeeding promotion; the panelists noted programmatic gaps and offered to work with legislators on follow‑up.
No committee vote occurred; the ICDR panel presented findings and recommendations for agencies and lawmakers to consider.
