As leaders within our own communities, we have the ability to ease the additional hardships that bereaved parents, caregivers, and families experience in the aftermath of a child’s death. By fostering a culture of understanding and improving the responses and systems that serve grieving families, we can build a tomorrow that is more compassionate and caring.
An Evermore Resource for Community Leaders
Community Bereavement Response Guide Following a Child Fatality
Reimagining community support for grieving parents, caregivers, and families.
Download the Full Guide
When a child dies, the loss reaches far beyond the family.
Evermore’s Community Bereavement Response Guide provides foundational information on grief and bereavement for communities seeking to strengthen their care and practices following a child’s death. The Guide includes fact sheets created specifically for the community leaders most likely to encounter, and be in a position to support, bereaved families:
- Childcare, Daycare, and Afterschool Providers
- Clergy, Ordained Leaders, Chaplains, and Faith Leaders
- Death Scene Investigators, Coroners, and Medical Examiners
- Domestic Violence and Homeless Shelter Staff
- Emergency Department Providers and Staff
- Employers, Supervisors, and Human Resource Leaders
- First Responders
- Higher Education Faculty and Staff
- Hospital Providers and Staff
- Primary Care Providers and Staff
- Reporters, the Media, and Influencers
- Social Service Providers
- Teachers, Educators, and Staff (K-12)
Community Bereavement Response Guide
Download the Full Guide
Free download. Includes all 16 fact sheets.
Fact Sheets for Community Leaders
Each fact sheet offers practical, role-specific guidance for supporting bereaved parents, caregivers, and families. Select a sheet to download the PDF.
CDR/FIMR Case Review Teams
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Childcare, Daycare, and Afterschool Providers
Get Your Fact Sheet
Clergy, Ordained Leaders, Chaplains, and Faith Leaders
Get Your Fact Sheet
Death Scene Investigators, Coroners, and Medical Examiners
Get Your Fact Sheet
Domestic Violence and Homeless Shelter Staff
Get Your Fact Sheet
Emergency Department Providers and Staff
Get Your Fact Sheet
Employers, Supervisors, and Human Resource Leaders
Get Your Fact Sheet
Entertainment and The Arts
Get Your Fact Sheet
First Responders
Get Your Fact Sheet
Higher Education Faculty and Staff
Get Your Fact Sheet
Hospital Providers and Staff
Get Your Fact Sheet
Primary Care Providers and Staff
Get Your Fact Sheet
Reporters, the Media, and Influencers
Get Your Fact Sheet
Social Service Providers
Get Your Fact Sheet
Teachers, Educators, and Staff (K-12)
Get Your Fact Sheet
Other Practical Tips for Community Leaders
Additional fact sheets to help communities cope in the aftermath of a child’s death.
How to Talk to Children About Death, How They Respond, and How You Can Help Developed with Dougy Center
This resource breaks down how children understand death, how they commonly respond, and specific ways adults can help by age group. It also covers children at death scenes and whether children should attend funerals.
DownloadSocial Security Benefits for Surviving Children
When a parent of a young child dies, their surviving children may be eligible for monthly Social Security benefits. This fact sheet explains who qualifies, what documents are needed, how to apply, and answers common questions about taxes, deadlines, and how the benefit interacts with other programs.
DownloadTop Ten Frequently Asked Questions About Bereavement
Clear answers to the questions people ask most often, including the difference between bereavement and grief, whether there is a right way to grieve, what bereavement leave employers are required to offer, and why terms like "heal" and "resilient" can do harm.
DownloadSpecial Considerations in the Aftermath of Child Death
The cause and manner of a child's death shape which systems a family engages with in the aftermath, such as law enforcement, hospitals, insurers, or the courts. This fact sheet explains anticipatory, disenfranchised, and traumatic grief, and what families commonly encounter after an overdose, homicide, stillbirth, sudden unexpected infant death, or suicide.
DownloadResources for Grieving People
Grief Directory
Find bereavement resources in every state, so you can see what’s near you.
Ten Ways to Support
Ten ways to support a grieving person.
Our Poet Laureate
Learn more about upcoming poetry workshops.
Grief Book Store
Explore Evermore’s curated bereavement collections for children, teens, and adults.
