A new report from the Kern County Public Health Services Department is looking at the issue of childhood deaths in the county. According to the report, 51 children under the age of 17 died in the county last year.
Around 40 percent of the deaths were accidental, including drowning and car crashes. Another 40 percent were considered undetermined, meaning there was insufficient or conflicting evidence for the coroner to issue a cause of death.
Three quarters of the 15 children under 1 year-old who died in the county were classified as sudden unexplained infant deaths, or SUID. Of those, 84 percent were determined to involve co-sleeping with one or more adults.
The report recommends the county continue efforts to increase awareness about safe sleep environments, and work with families that are at-risk to provide them with vouchers for sleep-safe cribs.
Overall the county saw a slight reduction in the number of childhood deaths, dropping 12 percent since 2013 to the lowest total since 2011.
