The Class

Sudden unexpected infant deaths are among the most emotionally charged and technically challenging scenes that investigators, law enforcement officers, and medicolegal professionals encounter. We offer a 2-day intensive training that provides a comprehensive, evidence-informed framework for investigating infant sleep-related deaths, from first arrival on scene to communication with the medical examiner and support for bereaved families.

Through lectures, practical demonstrations, case reviews, a dedicated session led by a SIDS parent-investigator (Deputy Chief Investigator Butler), and realistic mock scenes, participants will learn to collect high-quality scene data, conduct sensitive yet thorough interviews with caregivers, and understand how their work directly contributes to public health, epidemiologic research, and prevention of future deaths.

This course is designed for law enforcement officers and medical examiner/coroner investigators involved in infant death investigations. It may also be helpful for child fatality review team members, forensic professionals, and allied health professionals involved in investigations.

New SUIDI Investigation Form

In parallel, the team has developed a streamlined, investigator-centered investigation form [IDCSC SUIDI Reporting Form] that organizes questions in the order investigators work a scene and replaces many open-ended prompts with structured response options where appropriate.

Unlike the CDC SUIDI form, the layout is optimized for field use and rapid data entry while preserving alignment to CDC SUIDI elements and NCFRP priority variables via a crosswalk [See below]. This approach is designed to reduce documentation burden and increase completeness and comparability across jurisdictions.

This streamlined form has already been adopted by the HCIFS (Houston’s medical examiner’s office).