Suicide Prevention: What Can Schools Do?

1. Suicide Prevention: What Can Schools Do? 2008 Administrators’ Management Meeting for Exceptional Education & Student Services Personnel September 12, 2008 Stephen Roggenbaum Florida Suicide Implementation Project http://www.preventsuicide.fmhi.usf.edu Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute

2. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

3. Brief History of Suicide Prevention in Florida • Suicide Prevention is state priority (1999) • Florida Suicide Prevention Task Force (2002) • Florida Suicide Prevention Coalition (2002) • Florida Suicide Prevention Strategy: 2005-2010 (2005)

4. Brief History of Suicide Prevention in Florida • Statewide Office of Suicide Prevention (SOSP) • Florida Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council (SPCC) • Florida Suicide Prevention Implementation Project (@ FMHI/USF)

5. 2005 National Statistics • 32,637 suicides (89.4 per day) • Firearms used in more than half of all suicides (52.1%) • 4.1 male deaths by suicide for each female death • Suicide claims a life every 16.1 minutes Source: AAS, USA Suicide: 2005 Official Final Data

7. 2006 Florida Statistics Over 2,000 deaths (2,410 = 6.6 a day) 3rd leading cause for 15-24 yr olds 3.4 male deaths by suicide for each female death Suicide rate nearly 2 x homicide rate Source: DOH, Florida 2006 Vital Statistics Report

8. 2007 High Schoolers Report… Youth risk behavior surveillance, CDC 2008

9. Suicide Deaths: 15-19 year olds CDC / NCIPC / WISQARS

10. Suicide Deaths: 20-24 year olds CDC / NCIPC / WISQARS

11. “I thought about it and not just once. But I was lucky there was someone there who helped me see that it was not the best solution or the only solution.” Chrissie age 16 Youth Suicide Prevention Study, USF Prevention is often a matter of a caring person with the right knowledge being available in the right place at the right time.

12. Strategy Brochure • Communicates the State’s strategy & encourages implementation. • Florida Suicide Prevention Implementation Project @ FMHI/USF produced 13,000 brochures. • Distributed across the state by suicide prevention advocates.

13. Source: American Association of Suicidology, November 2003

14. Well Aware Bulletinhttp://www.fldoe.org/commissioner/aware/

15. Best Practice Registryhttp://www.sprc.org/featured_resources/bpr/index.asp

16. Best Practice Registryhttp://www.sprc.org/featured_resources/bpr/nrepp_bpr.asp

17. Best Practice Registryhttp://www.sprc.org/featured_resources/bpr/ebpp.asp

18. Best Practice Registryhttp://www.sprc.org/featured_resources/bpr/expert.asp

19. Best Practice Registryhttp://www.sprc.org/featured_resources/bpr/standards.asp

20. The Youth Suicide Prevention School-based Guide • Developed by The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute • Funded by the Institute for Child Health Policy at Nova Southeastern University • Funding source was a Florida Drug Free Communities Program Award

21. Given that… • Adolescents are a high-risk group for suicide • Schools can play a positive role in the lives of teens, & • Schools face multiple and competing demands TheYouth Suicide Prevention School-Based Guidecan help school districts and individual schools meet their need for accurate, user-friendly information to create hope and help for adolescents.

22. The Guide Is… A comprehensive, evidence-basedresource kit that will allow middle &high school administrators to assess the adequacy of their suicide prevention programs, expand their scope and improve their effectiveness. and builds on • Reviews of the literature • Exemplary plans and initiatives • Evidence associated with suicide prevention programs • Field-based information from educators & community partners • Consensus work by an expert panel

23. Goals of the Youth Suicide Prevention School-Based Guide • Define the elements ofa comprehensive, school-based program. • Examine the scientific literatureto determine what works in reducingthe incidence of suicide. • Provide checklists that may be completed by schools to evaluate the adequacy of their suicide prevention programs.

24. Goals of the Youth Suicide Prevention School-Based Guide (Continued) • Assist school administrators to add program elements. • Be a “living document”.

25. What the Guide Is NOT The Guide is • Notan endorsement of particular curricula or screening programs. • Notintended to collect data on suicide in schools.

26. GUIDE CONTENTS • Overview • Issue Briefs • Checklists • School Based Suicide Prevention Programs • Resources and Links • American Association of Suicidology Statistics Also Available: • Annotated Bibliography • Literature Review

27. LinkedInformation Issue Briefs Information content The Guide’sthree levels of use: Checklists school self-assessment References research citations forfurther exploration

28. The 9 Categories (Issue Briefs) • Information Dissemination • School Climate • Risk factors, Protective Factors, & Warning Signs • Administrative Issues • Prevention Strategies

29. The 9 Categories (Issue Briefs) continued • Intervention Strategies • Postvention Strategies (Media Guidelines) • Family Partnerships • Culturally Diverse Groups

30. The Guide The Guide will allow school administrators to assess the adequacy of their suicide prevention programs and to improve their scope & effectiveness. Prevention and intervention strategies will providehope for the future in building healthier children with better coping skills such that they make better choices and never enter into a position where they may consider self-harm as an option.

31. Conclusion Preventing suicide is like the many fragments of a puzzle. We need to work together – until the pieces of the puzzle come together. “We cannot change the past, but together we can shape a different future.” David Satcher, Former US Surgeon General

32. The Youth Suicide Prevention School-based Guide is available FREE online at http://theguide.fmhi.usf.edu CDs can be ordered (order form at website) For more information contact Stephen Roggenbaum roggenba@fmhi.usf.edu 813-974-6149

33. What Will You Do? “It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act.” Dalai Lama "The Path to Tranquility: Daily Wisdom”