The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) is the only state-based surveillance system that pulls information together from a variety of sources, to paint a more complete picture of violent deaths.

These sources include hospitals, state and local medical examiners, coroners, law enforcement, crime labs, and vital statistics. NVDRS covers all types of violent deaths—including homicides, suicides, and those related to child abuse and neglect—in all settings and for all age groups.

Through their collaboration on the Utah Violent Death Reporting System, the Utah Department of Health’s Violence and Injury Prevention Program and Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee helped inform a policy change to close a gap in services for the children of domestic violence-related homicide victims.

They then worked with the state Department of Children and Family Services to increase immediate referrals, which enable children and families of domestic violence-related homicides to receive the help and services they need.

We applaud their efforts to affect meaningful statewide change for the benefit of their residents.

To learn more about NVDRS and to access the system, visit CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention website.

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