The Child Protection Accountability Commission Releases its Quarterly Report on Child Abuse Deaths and Near Deaths

WILMINGTON, DE - The Child Protection Accountability Commission (CPAC) met on May 20, 2026, and released its quarterly reports. One of its statutory responsibilities is to review child deaths and near deaths due to abuse or neglect. CPAC approved findings from 26 cases at its meeting. Those cases are broken into two sections - cases that received a final review after completion of prosecution and cases that were reviewed for the first time.

There are 12 cases that received a final review this quarter. These were deaths and near deaths that occurred between July 2022 and July 2025. The fourteen remaining cases were from deaths or near deaths that occurred between August and October of 2025. Of these cases, two deaths and three near deaths will have no further review and were not prosecuted - these include unsafe sleep, subdural hemorrhage, medical neglect/failure to thrive, and abusive head trauma. The remaining nine cases - one deaths and eight near deaths - will remain open pending prosecutorial outcomes. These cases include unsafe sleep, skull fractures, bone fractures, medical neglect, failure to thrive, poisoning via drug ingestion, and abusive head trauma.

CPAC also reviewed its Data Dashboard to provide an overall picture of the volume and complexity of child welfare cases in Delaware over time. For more information visit https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/cpac/vizzes

For more information about CPAC and OCA, please visit https://courts.delaware.gov/childadvocate/.

Media Contact:
William Oh, [email protected] or [email protected] - 302-255-1730