The Pennsylvania Department of Health received $242,000 in this year’s budget allocation for its Child Death Review program, which represents a significant reduction from the $2.5 million that Governor Josh Shapiro had proposed earlier in the year. The program requires counties to establish boards of local officials who review the circumstances of deaths involving individuals under age 21 to inform prevention strategies. However, child welfare advocates and state health officials have expressed disappointment with the reduced funding level, arguing it will hamper efforts to improve a system that has struggled with compliance and resource constraints.
The underfunding of the program reflects broader challenges in the state budget process. County officials report being overwhelmed by the time-consuming requirements of the mandate, and data shows that only half of eligible cases have been reviewed by local teams since 2020. The 2008 creation of the Child Death Review program followed several high-profile child deaths, including the 1996 murder of a Berks County toddler. An East Stroudsburg University evaluation commissioned in 2024 characterized the program as an unfunded mandate, identifying structural weaknesses across multiple counties and recommending regional consolidation to improve resource allocation.
The Department of Health indicated that even the modest funding level will support hiring additional staff and enhancing county teams’ data collection and analysis capabilities. The agency currently has minimal staffing dedicated to the program, with one full-time position funded through federal grants and three part-time staff members. Advocates including Cathleen Palm, founder of the Center for Children’s Justice, have criticized both the funding shortfall and the broader lack of state infrastructure to support local review teams, which rely heavily on volunteer professionals balancing the work alongside their primary employment.
State legislative leaders indicated potential openness to future improvements. The Republican state Senate Majority Leader noted that further investments would require demonstration of efficient spending, while spokespersons for the administration emphasized that the new funding represents a compromise outcome reflecting divided government dynamics. Advocates have called for comprehensive state-level policy review that would coordinate the Child Death Review program with other child protection statutes, including Act 33 of 2008, which governs investigations into suspected child abuse or neglect deaths.
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