Chapter 672 of the Texas Health and Safety Code allows counties to establish adult fatality review teams comprised of professionals who work in such fields as law enforcement, mental health, public health, Adult Protective Services (APS), and domestic violence. The purpose of review teams is to decrease the incidence of preventable adult death. They do this by:
- Promoting cooperative, communication, and coordination among agencies involved in responding to unexpected deaths;
- Developing an understanding of the causes and incidence of unexpected deaths in the county or counties in which the review team is located; and
- Advising the legislature, appropriate state agencies, and local law enforcement agencies on changes to law, policy, or practice that will reduce the number of unexpected deaths.
When review teams are established, they must submit a report to DFPS no later than December 15 of each even-numbered year. DFPS must make those reports available to the public. The reports below have been received by DFPS:
- Bexar County 2022
- Harris County 2021-2022
- Harris County 2019-2020 Cover Letter / Report
- Gregg County 2019-2020
- Gregg County 2017-2018
For assistance with submitting an adult fatality review team report to DFPS, email Adult Protective Services or call (512) 929-6995.