A board of county commissioners shall appoint a health commissioner of the board of health of a city or general health district that is entirely or partially located in the county in which the board of county commissioners is located to establish a child fatality review board to review the deaths of children under eighteen years of age. The boards of county commissioners of two or more counties may, by adopting a joint resolution passed by a majority of the members of each participating board of county commissioners, create a regional child fatality review board to serve all participating counties. The joint resolution shall appoint, for each county participating as part of the regional review board, one health commissioner from a board of health of a city or general health district located at least in part in each county. The health commissioners appointed shall select one of their number as the health commissioner to establish the regional review board. The regional review board shall be established in the same manner as provided for single county review boards.

In any county that has a body acting as a child fatality review board on the effective date of this section, the board of county commissioners of that county, in lieu of having a health commissioner establish a child fatality review board, shall appoint that body to function as the child fatality review board for the county. The body shall have the same duties, obligations, and protections as a child fatality review board appointed by a health commissioner. The board of county commissioners or an individual designated by the board shall convene the body as required by section 307.624 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-05-2000.