Florida - University of South Florida

Florida Youth Suicide Prevention (FLYSP) Project
The Florida Youth Suicide Prevention (FLYSP) Project is a collaborative partnership between the Florida Statewide Office of Suicide Prevention (SOSP), the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the Florida Council for Community Mental Health (FCCMH) and the University of South Florida (USF) to build upon the state’s prior Garrett Lee Smith implementation of the state’s comprehensive suicide prevention plan. Through the creation of an Inter-Agency Dissemination and Collaborative Network (IDCN), the FLYSP Project will expand, disseminate and implement the state’s pilot-tested, culturally sensitive, evidence-based suicide prevention strategies into four Florida counties.
The goals/measurable objectives of the FLYSP are to:

1. Enhance the SOSP website in cultivating sustainable partnerships;
2. Expand the number of culturally competent prevention trainers;
3. Increase the quantity and quality of adult and youth prevention gatekeepers;
4. Increase distribution of suicide prevention materials;
5. Increase family involvement in suicide prevention;
6. Increase the number of at-risk youths identified by screening and gatekeeper activities;
7. Improve the quantity and quality of professional assessments of at-risk youth; and
8. Increase the number of referrals and successful, sustainable treatment linkages for at-risk youth.

To achieve these goals, the FLYSP Project will strategically engage, educate and empower individuals, families, schools, and communities to prevent suicide morbidity and mortality in selected counties by:

1. Developing a sustainable mechanism through the IDCN to foster collaborations and create viable networks that will disseminate and support implementation of suicide prevention efforts,
2. Expanding family and community outreach efforts (via Family Guide, 6,000 to be distributed),
3. Conducting evidence-based training of adults [QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer, with 3,600 adults trained] and training/screening of students [SOS, Signs of Suicide, with 2,000 students trained/screened], and
4. Promoting, enhancing, and supporting existing crisis support services [National Lifeline promotion, Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR) (with 20 professionals trained), postvention materials and resources, cross-system referral linkage and tracking].

Ultimately, these activities would lead to reduction in youth suicide attempts and deaths. Prevention efforts will target specific service sectors providing direct services to the following at-risk populations: lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender youth, foster children, Native American and Latino youths, college students, veterans and military families, survivors of suicide attempts and loss, youth substance users, and bullied and victimized youths. Four applicant counties will be competitively selected for dissemination of these activities based on need for suicide prevention programming; previous suicide prevention experience; organizational capacity; established public and private interagency partnerships and referral networks; community and stakeholder buy-in; and commitment to evaluation research. Independent quality assurance and evaluation efforts will be conducted by USF.