Boston Globe Child Fatality Data Request (Wabasha Cty, MN)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Minnesota Data Practices Act, I hereby request the following documents:

I am requesting access to records regarding child abuse and neglect which resulted in a child fatality from Jan. 1, 2011 to present.

Because your state receives funds from CAPTA and has attested that it is CAPTA compliant, these records should be collected and in a readily accessible format. Section 106(b)(2)(B)(x) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act requires states to publicly disclose the following in each case of a child fatality or near fatality:
• The cause and circumstances regarding the fatality or near fatality
• The age and gender of the child
• Information describing any previous reports or child abuse or neglect investigations that are pertinent to the child abuse or neglect that led to the fatality or near fatality.
• The result of any such investigations.
• The services provided by and the actions of the State on behalf of the child that are pertinent to the child abuse or neglect that led to the fatality or near fatality.
I am requesting access to this information for each child fatality in the time frame referenced, preferably in preferably in machine-readable format, such as Microsoft Excel or a comma delimited text file. These records should not be aggregate data, but instead broken out for each individual child fatality.

Because your county is already required by federal law to maintain these records and make them available for public requests, and because I am a reporter and this request is being made as part of a newsgathering effort and not for commercial use, I request all fees associated with this request be waived.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I would request your response within ten (10) business days.

Sincerely,

Jessica Huseman