The Alaska Youth Suicide Prevention Project will enhance and expand suicide prevention programs and services to specific regions and youth populations where suicide rates are exceedingly high. The goals and outcomes of the Alaska Youth Suicide Prevention Project include

1. Increase Alaska’s understanding that youth suicide is preventable.
2. Increase promotion of healthy social and emotional growth and youth development.
3. Increased access and availability of behavioral health services.
4. Increase use of suicide prevention research and evaluation methods.
5. Decrease suicide and suicidal behavior among Alaska’s youth.

Regional Suicide Prevention Teams (RSPTs) will be developed statewide in early 2009 and will implement the community-based planning model, Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF), developing strategic regional plans to support project outcomes. Plans will incorporate a culturally responsive and sustainable approach to include early prevention, intervention and postvention strategies targeting youth. RSPTs will include representation from school districts, community youth organizations, mental health providers, churches, parent groups, juvenile justice, children’s protective services and other youth-related groups. Special emphasis will be on high risk youth populations in Alaska, including Alaska Native male teens, military youth Veterans 18-24, early teen females who have high rates of depression onset, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) youth, and youth in residential/institutional settings such as youth detention or foster care. The University of Alaska Anchorage, Behavioral Health Research Services (BHRS) will be conducting the project’s program evaluation including an ethnographic analysis for each region, conducting key informant interviews, assist in program evaluations for regional teams, and participating in a cross site evaluation. BHRS will also pilot a university campus program at UAA. Another GLSMA recipient, Maniilaq’s Project Life in Kotzebue region is entering into its third year of their project and Kawerak Inc. in Nome has also recently been awarded.

The purpose of Arizona's Suicide Prevention Project is to reduce the rate of completed suicide among Arizona youth, ages 15-24. The project involves developing the capacity of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) organizations to incorporate evidence based strategies and best practices into their programs. Simultaneously, the project will provide training in gatekeeping and climate improvement for education, behavioral health and juvenile corrections.

The Arizona Suicide Prevention Project is a partnership among three organizations: the Arizona Department of Health Services, Division of Behavioral Health Services (ADHS/DBHS), Arizona State University (ASU), and the Arizona Suicide Prevention Coalition (AzSPC) and involves implementation of key components of Arizona's strategic plan for suicide prevention.

Universal components of the project involve establishment of a gatekeeper training network, provision of gatekeeper training, and ongoing training for educators, behavioral health providers, and juvenile corrections professional in suicide prevention and in how to develop a safe and supportive climate for LGBTQ youth. Mini grants will be extended to organizations that serve LGBTQ youths for selected interventions, including gatekeeper training, social marketing, parent education, youth leadership training, and other approaches to suicide prevention.

An indicated component of the project involves pilot testing an emergency room intervention with a hospital in Maricopa County. In addition, the project will work to develop referral networks to increase access to needed health services for at risk youth, as well as to expand availability of support services for survivors of suicide.

The Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) in the Injury, Suicide and Violence Prevention Unit of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is coordinating Project Safety Net, a comprehensive suicide prevention initiative in seven Colorado communities. The initiative primarily targets parents, caregivers and other adults working with youth ages 10-17 in the following high risk populations: 1) Hispanic/Latino(a) youth; 2) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning youth; 3)youth in the juvenile justice system; and, 4) youth enrolled in the child welfare system. The safety net will be made up of adults trained to recognize and respond to signs of suicide among youth in these populations.  

Agencies from the following seven counties and/or regions were awarded to participate in Project Safety Net: Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson (including Gilpin and Clear Creek counties), Pueblo, and Weld counties; and, the northeast region of Colorado (nine counties), and west-central Colorado (six counties). Participating communities will work with a local coalition and with a subcommittee advisory council of the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado; will create and disseminate cross-system referral and follow-up protocols for treatment and/or care of suicidal youth; will train gatekeepers in the Applied Suicide intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and the Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) training; and, will work with a marketing specialist to create public awareness campaigns targeting potential suicide interveners.

Project Safety Net will accomplish the following four goals during the three year cooperative agreement:
Goal One: Build capacity at the state and local levels for providing culturally competent suicide intervention and prevention services to youth.
Goal Two: Improve the ability of adults in the community to respond to suicide risk among Hispanic/Latino(a) and LGBTQ youth, and among youth involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.
Goal Three: Ensure that youth identified as suicidal are referred to and receive appropriate services in their communities.
Goal Four: Determine the effectiveness of Project Safety Net and advance what is known about suicide prevention with youth ages 10-17.

The OSP will conduct process, outcome and performance evaluations throughout the cooperative agreement, and will contract with an evaluation team from Colorado State University to design and implement outcome evaluation tools in each participating community. By the end of Year Three, Project Safety Net will have a sustainability plan in place in each community, and evaluation measures will determine overall project success.

The CT Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services in partnership with state agencies, the CT VA, universities and behavioral health providers will collaborate to bring sustainable evidence-based, suicide prevention and mental health promotion policies, practices and programs to scale at institutions of higher education statewide for students up to age 24.  A total of 8,715 students will receive screening, brief interventions and mental health services over three years.  The CT Campus Suicide Prevention Initiative (CCSPI) will build campus infrastructure to enhance suicide prevention efforts and linkages to existing systems of care including CTs Military Support Program and behavioral health providers to address recommendations identified in the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, CT Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Plan, and the CT Youth Suicide Advisory Board (YSAB) recommendations for this population.  The CCSPI will also build on the work of the YSAB and the infrastructure developed through DMHAS’ previous cohort 2 Garrett Lee Smith Grant.  The YSAB will serve as advisory to the CCSPI, providing feedback and guidance to staff and partners, ensuring that the initiative addresses the needs of the students and satisfies the requirements of the federal grant.  The project will enhance the breadth and scope of behavioral health services provided through CT’s Statewide Healthy Campus Initiative (CSHCI).  The CSHCI is comprised of over 30 institutions of higher education, state government officials, and community organizations whose mission is to serve as a catalyst for creating and sustaining healthy campus and community environments.
The CCSPI, will use SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) and the national Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)/JED Foundation’s Comprehensive Approach to Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Promotion to enhance the number of colleges statewide with infrastructure and evidenced-based services for students at risk.  Through training and technical assistance, campuses will develop and expand a continuum of suicide prevention services and increase the number of students who are referred to and receive mental health services.  Students served will include, but not be limited to, those with mental health needs veterans, active duty military personnel and members of their family, students of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) orientation, Latina, and those who are survivors of suicide attempts and bereaved by suicide.  Funded campuses will work with DMHAS and the SPRC to assess gaps in services and identify evidence-based strategies appropriate for their unique campus needs.  Campus personnel, peer educators and student organizations and cultural centers, will be engaged to participate in related health and wellness strategies.  The UCHC will conduct a process and outcome evaluation of the proposed initiative through documenting and assessing statewide and campus level infrastructure and suicide prevention interventions, and will work with staff to ensure that all national cross-site evaluation requirements are met.

With this statewide project, Delaware will expand its capacity for crisis intervention and response, increase knowledge and awareness of suicide and prevention among secondary school teachers, administrators and students and their parents and train adults who work with youth in the community about suicide risk and about how to help when they learn about a potential youth suicide.  Delaware will rigorously evaluate project strategies and sustain key project activities.
This federally-funded-funded project will allow Delaware to address a critical service gap across our state.  Since data shows middle schools have virtually no suicide prevention education but middle school students are at high risk, the primary population of focus for this project is our state’s middle school student population.  Suicide prevention will be provided to at least 6,250 students across the state’s middle schools (about 2,000 per year).  Research shows the middle school population is a critical audience for suicide prevention education.  The middle schools population reflects the Delaware population demographics of our families and community.
The project strategy is to increase the state system’s capacity for crisis response, then directly reach middle school students across the state, using an Lifelines, an evidence-based intervention, to provide essential information about suicide risk, prevention and what to do if the student learns of a potential suicide plan.  Lifelines will be used for educators and parents in the schools.  In addition, outreach to adults who work with youth in Delaware’s communities statewide will be provided through the Mental Health Association of Delaware and Family Voices, educating adults (including parents, medical practice and community juvenile justice staff) in suicide prevention using the Lifelines or safeTALK curriculum to strengthen our state’s capacity to respond across our entire community.  Finally, a communications campaign supported by all project partners and publicized through Family Voices, Delaware’s only family-run organization and provider of the state’s Family-to-Family Health Information Center, will help us increase awareness of families statewide about suicide prevention, with particular outreach and attention to military families.

1. Delaware is ready for rapid implementation to achieve these Goals and Objectives:
2. Increase the crisis response capacity of Delaware’s child behavioral healthcare system;
3. Increase knowledge and awareness of suicide prevention statewide via communications campaign, with suicide prevention education primarily for middle school students, parents and educators, using Lifeline (NREPP) and safeTALK (SPRARC);
4. Train at adults who work with youth in Delaware in youth suicide prevention (more than 6,000 adults over the 3 year grant period, about 2,000 per year);
5. Rigorously evaluate, with partner University of Delaware, the effectiveness of these strategies to inform data-driven decision-making at the state policy and operations levels; and
6. Sustain core project activities after the expiration of the federal grant.

Washington, D.C. proposes to address youth suicide through its suicide prevention initiative, Capitol CARES: Comprehensive Approach to Reducing Risk for and Eliminating Suicide. The program involves three distinct activities to extend existing successful suicide prevention efforts in the District of Columbia: l) Gatekeeper training of special populations including schools, police, clergy and primary care providers; 2) Screening through collaborative efforts with both public and private partners; and 3) Social Marketing to educate the community about suicide prevention and potential warning signs.

The vast majority of youth ages l0-24 in D.C. are of ethnic minority decent, with approximately 82% African American and 11% Latino. Although the numbers of completed suicides for youth in D.C. is low, youth are almost twice as likely as the national sample to attempt suicide. Healthy lifestyles for thousands of D.C. children are hindered by environmental and social factors such as poverty, community violence, drugs, gangs, and child abuse. Given the risk factors and the small geographical size of the District, all youth in D.C. will be exposed to this suicide prevention program, though we will be targeting schools for screening primarily in the City's poorest neighborhoods.

We plan to saturate D.C. with QPR Gatekeeper Training to “natural gatekeepers” in schools, juvenile justice, foster care services, residential treatment centers, churches, and primary care settings such as pediatrician's offices and emergency rooms to increase awareness and response to youth distress. Mini-grants will be offered to local organizations who work with youth to help raise awareness about the relationship of suicide to related risk factors specific to urban youth such as violence exposure, trauma, substance abuse, and early and unprotected sex. A social marketing plan will be developed for the purpose of reducing stigma associated with mental health services and raising awareness about suicide behaviors and related risk factors as a public health problem in D.C.

The unique goals and objectives of this grant are to: (1) Create citywide infrastructure of linked supports for suicide prevention; (2) Increase awareness of the extent of the problem, signs and symptoms, and appropriate response for suicide risk, including related risk factors for suicide (e.g., violence exposure, gang involvement, unprotected sex, HIV/AIDS exposure, substance abuse); (3) Identify and link youth at risk for suicide to services; (4) Build capacity for referrals and ensure availability of care for youth at risk for and during a suicidal crisis; (5) Reduce suicide attempts by D.C. youth; and (6) Suicide reporting and data collection for DC will be accurate, comprehensive, and up to date. We hope to reach at least l000 youth annually through mini-grant activities. We also hope to provide QPR to at least 1000 people annually. By 2015, all residents of D.C. will have been exposed to some suicide prevention materials.

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 GLYSP 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.

The Georgia Youth Suicide Prevention Project is building upon existing state suicide prevention efforts to extend suicide prevention/early intervention services to at-risk youth and their families. The project blends statewide prevention awareness and gatekeeper training, coalition support, peer leadership development, enhanced gatekeeper training in middle and high schools and advanced training for crisis workers, hospital staff and diverse youth-serving agencies in five target counties.

To build and expand existing statewide capacity, the project is conducting basic youth suicide prevention training among youth-serving agencies, organizations and professional groups, establishing an active youth subcommittee within the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Georgia, and developing a statewide strategy for youth suicide prevention.

The project is working in five target counties to support local suicide prevention coalition development and expand or enhance linkages among a network of mental health, substance abuse, juvenile justice and youth serving agencies and educators. It is working with local communities to implement an enhanced gatekeeper training tested in Cobb County Schools that combines Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) training for adult school staff and the Sources of Strength program to develop peer leaders that reflect a school’s diversity and encourage positive relationships between youth and trusted adults. We are offering training in Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM), Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR) for clinical professionals and Working With Those Bereaved by Suicide in the Professional Setting: Postvention Strategies. Trainings are being focused on the five target counties but open to professionals from communities throughout the state.

The project is conducting QPR gatekeeper training for state and local youth-serving agencies and professional organizations to (1) raise awareness and build support for youth suicide prevention; (2) provide support for the school-based enhanced gatekeeper training program; and (3) ensure that those who regularly come into contact with youth (i.e., those in education, child welfare/foster care, juvenile justice, law enforcement, etc.) are properly trained to effectively identify, respond and facilitate linkages for youth who are at-risk for suicide.

We are assisting Emory University in its efforts to collect campus-wide data on at-risk students in its undergraduate and graduate programs. We participated in the state-wide Suicide Prevention College Conference where suicide prevention teams from 29 of Georgia’s institutions of higher education gathered to share information about their suicide prevention efforts and hear recommendations from experts in the field. We are also adding five colleges to our group of programs with Sources of Strength teams.

Suicide is the 5th leading cause of death on Guam; an approximate one suicide death every two weeks occurring predominantly among males, who outnumber suicide deaths among females with a ratio of 9:1.  Suicide deaths disaggregated by age predominate among youth and young adults aged 10-29 on Guam.   Cumulatively in the past eleven years (from 2000 to 2010), 20% of suicide deaths occurred in those aged 10-19, and 38% of deaths happened among those aged 20-29 years.  Altogether, close to 60% of all suicide deaths on Guam from 2000-2010 occurred in those younger than age 30.  

In October 2008, Guam was awarded a GLSMA Youth Suicide Prevention grant targeting individuals primarily between the ages of 10-24 years. Guam’s Focus on Life accomplishments to date include:
a) an improved surveillance and centralized monitoring and reporting system for capturing data on suicide attempts and deaths, as well as other intentional self-harming;
b) stronger public, private and community-based partnerships in the development of culturally relevant suicide prevention resources, training, early intervention, post-vention and referrals for treatment services that are responsive to the community’s identified needs;
c) expansion of Guam’s 24-Hour Crisis Hotline services to include a Youth Helpline component managed by trained youth volunteers;
d) established pool of locally-based ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and safeTALK trainers who advocate for effective, evidence-based suicide prevention policies, programs, and practices among Guam’s key stakeholders; and

Hawai’i’s Caring Communities Initiative
Under the Hawai’i’s Caring Communities Initiative, Hawai’i will implement two strategic projects entitled ‘Mobilizing Communities At Risk’ and ‘Enhancing the Statewide Trauma Network’, using the rubric of the evidence-based ‘Communities that Care.’  With the goal of preventing youth suicide and increasing early intervention, these projects will positively impact at-risk communities, as well as the statewide suicide crisis infrastructure in Hawai’i.  Research indicates that at-risk communities in Hawai’i include Native Hawaiian communities and rural communities.  This Initiative will have a ripple effect on communities throughout Hawai’i as public awareness on suicide prevention will be enhanced, more at-risk youth will be identified and referred, and more families will be empowered to prevent future attempts.  This Initiative aligns with the State’s strategic goals for suicide prevention and builds upon previous efforts of the ‘Hawai’i Gatekeeper Training Initiative.’
‘Communities that Care’ is a universal, community-wide, evidence-based prevention system.  It employs a public health model of preventing poor outcomes by helping communities set the foundation for introducing interventions, and by reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors.  It has been proven to make a difference in promoting positive youth development by effectively addressing issues that youth in a specific community face, thereby increasing the effectiveness of selected interventions.
‘Mobilizing Communities At Risk.’  A local pilot project using a youth and community mobilization model to engage youth in suicide prevention advocacy demonstrated promising results.  Hawai’i will expand on this strategy through youth-serving organizations by linking the ‘Connect Suicide Prevention Program’, endorsed by the National Registry of Best Practices, with community mobilization.  This project will increase public awareness and community-based support for youth suicide prevention, and expand gatekeeper training in at-risk communities. Thirty youth leaders per year will receive advocacy training and work with their peers and community partners to conduct public awareness campaigns and promote the suicide hotline, reaching 18,000 community members each year, including youth and their families.
‘Enhancing the Statewide Trauma Network.’  Community emergency departments in the Statewide Trauma System provide a new avenue for training gatekeepers who have far too frequent contact with youth who are suicidal or have made suicide attempts.  This project focuses on improving access to care and reducing mental health disparities in rural communities by training every emergency department manager in ‘Connect,’ who would then train 500 other healthcare professionals in their respective facilities to provide intervention for 100 youth per year as well as consult with parents and family members to better support youth who are at risk for suicide and to prevent future attempts.

The goal of the Idaho Awareness to Action Youth Suicide Prevention Early Intervention Project (AAYSP) is to reduce suicides among Idaho youth ages 10-24 by implementing objectives from Idaho's Suicide Prevention Plan. The goals include information dissemination, collaboration with prevention stakeholders, gatekeeper training, and data collection/evaluation. The Governor's Council on Suicide Prevention provides input the project. Awareness to Action Academies help stakeholders learn how to put knowledge of suicide prevention in use.
Goal 1: Disseminate Evidence-Informed Practices, including an awareness campaign toolkit, Signs of Suicide (SOS) program, QPR and culturally appropriate practices.
Goal 2: Conduct Gatekeeper Training using Idaho's nationally recognized gatekeeper training, Better Today’s/Better Tomorrows, with trainees recruited from adult caregivers representing high risk groups, emergency services personnel and first responders, Indian tribes, Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Alaska Natives as well as LGBT groups, attempters, survivors, child welfare/foster care workers, juvenile justice, law enforcement, childcare, parents/grandparents, college campuses, and faculty/staff of Idaho's 114 school districts.
Goal 3: Collaborate with the Governor's Council on Suicide Prevention for guidance, input, and evaluation of project progress. Consult independently with specific cultural, high risk, and racial/ethnic groups not represented on the Council. Work with SPAN Idaho and others on evidence informed materials relevant to crisis workers, medical response and first responders, juvenile justice, childcare, foster care, sexual orientation, and previous attempters.
Goal 4: Conduct Awareness to Action Academy for a variety of stakeholders including general and mental health professionals suicide assessment and advocacy skills to lead Idaho from awareness of to a state where advocates and health professionals are leaders for action.
Goal 5: Participate in the cross-site evaluation and conduct local evaluations including quantitative and qualitative input from program participants, public, private, tribal, and family stakeholders to assess achieving project goals, objectives, outcomes, and processes. The local evaluation includes suicide risk and protective factors identification and model building
Project activities will result in sustainable products and services, such as supporting sustainable SOS activities in Idaho's 114 school districts, creating a cadre of QPR trainers statewide, distributing a college workbook for suicide prevention among resident assistant housing staff, and developing suicide assessment and advocacy skills through assures consistency with state priorities and supports implementation through evidence-based practices.

The Indiana Cares Youth Suicide Prevention Project is funded by a 3-year Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant under the Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Program.  It is a project of the Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne Behavioral Health and Family Studies Institute. It is a sister project of, and builds on the work of, the Indiana Suicide Prevention Coalition.
The core of the Indiana Cares Project is the Youth Suicide Prevention Resource Center. The Resource Center provides assistance and resources to individuals, communities, and agencies across Indiana to prevent suicide among youth ages 10-24.  The Resource Center also coordinates the following activities:

• Building the capacity of youth serving systems to reduce the incidence and effects of suicide by targeting the youth serving systems to a) Provide evidence-based suicide prevention and intervention training, along with education about building resilience in youth and families, and b) Develop and institutionalize policies and protocols aimed at suicide prevention, intervention and postvention.
• Providing mini grants to communities/organizations. Priority is given to those serving higher risk populations such as African American, Latino/Latinas, LGBT, rural, incarcerated populations.
• Piloting the Connect! Project, a comprehensive, community-based approach to preventing youth suicide that involves getting all youth serving systems working together (with similar training and protocols) to prevent and respond to youth suicide.
• Helping make suicide prevention efforts around the state more culturally competent through cultural competency workshops across the state and through two specific initiatives: African American Suicide Prevention Initiative and Latino Suicide Prevention Initiative.
• Training mental health and health care providers around the state in the CALM program (Counseling on Access to Lethal Means).
• Conducting two youth suicide prevention-related conferences during the three year grant.
• Raising awareness across the state about suicide prevention via exhibits and conference presentations, a resource library, a website, a social network (“ning”), resource sheets on topics and populations at risk of suicide, and tailored consultation;
• Supporting and building the state network of local suicide prevention councils/coalitions.

The Louisiana Partnership for Youth Suicide Prevention (LPYSP) proposes to address one of the leading causes of death among LA’s adolescents and young adults: suicide. This initiative advances strategies of the LA S.T.A.R. Plan to strengthen public and private partnerships, cultivate community efforts, mobilize existing resources, expand gatekeeper training, increase awareness of youth suicide and prevention, to provide timely referral resources to families and survivors, to increase support groups for survivors, to strengthen linkages between crisis response teams. After receiving funding from the SAMHSA GLS Grant in 2006, the previously established Task Force transitioned into the LPYSP whose main aims were to promote suicide prevention activities in the hurricane impacted areas of LA.

Under the leadership of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of Mental Health (LA DHH-OMH) this grant expands the youth suicide prevention efforts of the 2001 LA Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force across the entire state. LPYSP is comprised of a broad range of public and private partners. This group serves as the governing body to provide oversight, development, monitoring, and evaluation of program activities.

The project targets 15000 youth and young adults ages 10 to 24 years old, consisting of middle, high school, and college students and professionals (such as OMH, DOE, and 211 providers) that serve this population. A high priority of this program will be early intervention, prevention and assessment services to youth and young adults who are at risk for emotional or behavioral disorders that may lead to suicide or a suicide attempts. Through partnerships across systems, the integration of suicide prevention resources and services in schools, universities, juvenile justice, substance abuse and mental health programs that target at-risk youth populations will increase their competence and awareness of youth suicide risk.

The Transforming Youth Suicide Prevention in Michigan (TYSP-Mi) Program is working to engage programs and individuals to expand suicide prevention in the state and more strongly emphasize primary prevention and early intervention. The Program will a) provide technical assistance and grants to local communities for program development and delivery; b) maintain strong gatekeeper and mental health professional training programs; and c) work to build a strong state infrastructure to support programming in the future.
Specific program activities include:

• Ongoing support through grants to eight communities to develop or enhance comprehensive local prevention and early intervention efforts.
• A Technical Assistance Program, including an annual two day technical assistance meeting, for communities not receiving grant funds to assist them with building the skills and knowledge to strengthen or initiate local efforts.
• Providing AMSR and ASIST trainings in regions of the state where trainings are currently not available.
• Building a planning and advisory structure specifically for youth suicide prevention in Michigan.
• Engaging other state departments in determining the role of state government in suicide prevention.

NEXT TXT 4 LIFE builds on existing multi-agency collaborations to strengthen suicide prevention efforts which serve 22,000 school-aged youth who live in rural and reservation areas of Northeastern Minnesota.  Northeastern Minnesota cover 24% of the State of Minnesota and has 6% of the population.  The suicide rate for youth and adults in this area is among the highest in the state, and historically exceeds the state average. American Indian and female youth are particularly at risk.  It is estimated that 1400 individual advocates and service providers who deal with youth in crises will benefit from the training and collaboration made possible through this proposal.  An estimated 1500 youth will benefit from involvement in at least one level of our suicide prevention response system.  Our primary mission is to reduce the incidence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts for NE MN youth by a minimum of 20 percent by 1) Increasing access and utilization among youth of the Minnesota suicide prevention crisis response system by updating infrastructure to include text-messaging to encourage help-seeking behavior, 2) Improving local suicide prevention planning/services and increase protective factors and reduce risk factors among youth though implementation of culturally appropriate, evidence based youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies, 3) Increasing gatekeeper awareness and understanding of youth suicide, willingness to intervene, and skills for appropriate intervention and referral.  Implementation of the proposed suicide prevention strategies will begin in NE Minnesota, including Carlton, Cook, Lake, St. Louis, Aitkin, Itasca, Koochiching Counties and Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Red Lake, and Bois Forte/Nett Lake tribal reservations, and then continue across Minnesota.  Proposed strategies include:

• Expansion of local public awareness efforts utilizing social media marketing (i.e. texting)
• Strengthen collaborative infrastructure within the NE Minnesota region
• Development of partnerships in NE Minnesota to expand suicide prevention efforts
• Combine efforts of the student originated “Life is for Everyone” (LIFE), Department of Public Health, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, and Suicide Awareness Voice of Education (SAVE), and Carlton County Suicide Prevention Taskforce
• Ensure sustainability of youth suicide prevention programs
• Provide leadership and informational training for consumer and community stakeholders
• Continue to provide training for key gatekeepers in recognizing and responding to suicide risk

The Carlton County Public Health, Humans Services Inc./Crisis Connection and Carlton County Children and Family Services Collaborative will take the lead in this initiative.  All partners have experience with state and federal grants that have expanded to a regional or statewide area.  This suicide prevention proposal builds on the success of a prior initiative funded by the MDH, which first introduced the Question, Persuade, Respond model of suicide prevention in 2009.

The purpose of the “Missouri Youth Suicide Prevention Project” (MYSPP) is to create a statewide youth suicide prevention response using evidence-based practices and grounded in public/private collaboration.  The three major goals for the State & Tribe Youth Suicide Prevention Grant activities are:

1. Transitioning to a sustainable statewide community-based infrastructure that supports a range of suicide prevention activities, including increasing awareness and identification;
2. Enhancing the ability of the youth service system to identify and respond to youth at-risk for suicide; and
3. Improving access to mental health services and the ability to respond to increasing needs.

Target populations are staff and providers from youth serving organizations and Missouri youth and young adults between ages of 10 and 24, with an emphasis on youth who are part of a high-risk population as determined by living in an area with a suicide rate higher than the national or state average; a higher number of suicides than the state average, a self-reported attempt rate higher than the state average (including college-aged youth); or belonging to any subgroup with known high-risk characteristics such as increased substance use, veterans of the armed services, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth (LGBT), or youth who have already attempted suicide.  Activities will include a combination of both statewide interventions and intensive services targeting five distinct regions of the state.  The MYSPP will provide direct services to an average of 7,000 individuals annually, and approximately 21,000 over the life of the grant.
The project will be administered by the Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH) and independently evaluated by the Missouri Institute of Mental Health, a part of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.  The independent evaluation will assist DMH in assuring youth suicide prevention interventions are evidence based and tailored to the particular needs of Missouri communities.

Nebraska's suicide rate for youth ages 10-24 exceeds the national rate and is the second leading cause of death for Nebraskans ages 15-19. The Nebraska Suicide Prevention Project will reduce youth suicide by promoting culturally appropriate, evidence based prevention practices statewide, focusing on youth at high risk for suicide: youth involved in multiple systems, minority youth and youth in transition to adulthood, including young returning veterans.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Division of Behavioral Health provides oversight for the grant. The University of Nebraska Public Policy Center and Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska and the Nebraska State Suicide Prevention Coalition are collaborating partners charged with carrying out grant activities and evaluating the project's progress.

The project aims to increase general awareness of suicide as a preventable public health issue and to produce measurable decreases in Nebraska's youth suicide rates through the provision of seed grants for local suicide prevention activities; training gatekeepers and clinicians to screen, recognize and act on signs of suicide; implementing screening for suicide with high risk youth; working with communities to support young returning veterans and military families in Nebraska; assisting the state's trauma centers to implement means restriction protocols; and strengthening Nebraska's public/private state suicide prevention coalition. Project activities are designed to support local, regional and state suicide prevention efforts to ensure suicide prevention is sustained in urban, rural and frontier areas of the state. The public/private State Suicide Prevention Coalition will serve as an advisory body for the grant’s project management team as it monitors progress toward reaching grant goals.

Nevada has continually had one of the ten highest youth suicide rates in the nation. A System of Care for Youth Suicide Prevention in Nevada supports, enhances and expands suicide prevention efforts with youth ages 10-24 in three regions of Nevada (Clark County, Washoe County and the Rural Counties) by implementing goals of the Nevada Suicide Prevention Plan and building on successes of current youth suicide prevention programs in Southern Nevada.

For 15 to 24 year old Nevadans, suicide is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of death for youth ages 10-14. The focus of this project, which is administered through the Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention, is to incorporate several existing suicide prevention efforts targeting the mental health issues of teens and their families into a comprehensive and collaborative system of care approach. The intention is to implement and expand the pilot project in Clark County into a more comprehensive and sustainable system of suicide prevention, disseminate information from the pilot project statewide, and implement a utilization-focused evaluation system to inform decision making and bring this public health crisis under control.

Nevada's Youth Suicide Prevention Program utilizes the management and leadership of two important groups: an Administrative Committee consisting of representatives from the Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention, various State agencies, 'the Statewide Behavior Health Consortium, and three locally driven and very active children's mental health consortia consisting of parents, child welfare services, mental health professionals, school personnel and sub grantees. The Office of Suicide Prevention and local consortia will work together to build upon existing infrastructure where suicide prevention is a key component to achieve the following:

Goal I. Nevada will strengthen its comprehensive statewide Suicide Prevention Plan using a quality improvement process derived from lessons learned in prior suicide prevention efforts and continue to accomplish youth-focused goals that increase awareness that suicide is preventable and decrease suicidal behaviors.

Goal II. Nevada will improve local suicide prevention planning/services in its largest community (Clark County) while developing and implementing a local suicide prevention plan in its second largest community (Washoe County). In addition to Gatekeeper Training and screening, text messaging will be implemented as a unique method of increasing youth awareness and encouraging help-seeking behavior.

Goal III. Nevada will support stakeholders in at least two of Nevada's rural communities and partner to develop, implement and evaluate local suicide prevention plans.

Goal IV. Nevada will continue to evaluate youth suicide prevention plan and programs to improve training, policy, and community collaboration.

Connect Garrett Lee Smith (CGLS) strives to reduce suicide incidents by supporting the NH Suicide Prevention Council (SPC) to implement the State Plan and increase capacity on the individual, community and systems level for suicide prevention and postvention. CGLS improves access to mental health care through early intervention and referral, builds caring communities, clarifies service provider roles and responsibilities, changes attitudes and behaviors, and enhances skills.

Goal #1: Promote implementation of the State Plan by providing technical assistance and consultation to the SPC. CGLS will partner with SPC to: strengthen relationships across systems, educate policy leaders, and enhance awareness of cultural needs.
Goal #2: Establish a statewide environment that improves the understanding and response capacity of systems to high risk youth by educating, training, and reducing stigma related to mental health/substance use disorders. CGLS will train key service providers to address target populations including survivors, veterans/military, GLBT, Indians, substance-involved youth, foster care and attempt survivors by training 600 statewide leaders annually for a total of 1,800, utilizing the Best Practice programs of Connect, AMSR and CALM. CGLS will disseminate 7,000 media products annually for a total of 21,000 promoting help-seeking behavior and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Goal #3: Strengthen the ability of regional coalitions and key stakeholders to recognize youth at risk, provide an integrated culturally-competent response, and connect them to appropriate resources by implementing the Connect National Best Practice suicide prevention, early intervention and postvention program. The northernmost NH region is rural, isolated, economically depressed, with substance use and suicide rates that greatly exceed both the state and national averages. Working with regional coalitions and service providers, to strengthen relationships to address the target populations, CGLS will train 600 participants annually for a total of 1,800 in the Connect model.
Goal #4: Improve the quality of NH's suicide prevention, intervention and postvention activities by conducting local and cross site evaluation and enhancing the capacity of existing statewide data surveillance systems. CGLS will work with the SPC Data Committee to improve data collection, data analysis and reporting between systems so key decision makers can allocate resources based on objective information. Local and cross-site data will be used strategically to inform and improve project performance.
Goal #5: Promote sustain ability of suicide prevention, intervention and postvention efforts in NH by implementing the NH State Plan. CGLS will: a) develop an educated leadership, b) strengthen public/private partnerships, c) expand help-seeking efforts through public education d) improve data monitoring and surveillance activities and e) improve public policy and statewide financial support. Evaluation guides all CGLS activities

Under the leadership of the New York State (NYS) Office of Mental Health (OMH) and with numerous partners and stakeholders, New York has mounted a major Suicide Prevention Initiative. Although suicide death rates vary across the state, each death from suicide is one too many, and prevention initiatives must be statewide. Many actions and foci populate the State’s Suicide Prevention Initiative and Suicide Prevention Plan. Among these, prevention of youth suicide is a critical priority and the focus of this proposed Youth Suicide Prevention Program. Within the total population of youth ages 10-24 in the state, several groups face heightened risk; youth in the child service systems (child welfare, foster care, runaway and homeless youth, mental health, juvenile justice, chemical dependence); Latina youth; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth; youth in military families; and youth at risk of suicide due to exposure in their communities and schools. These groups form our population of focus. The interventions we propose are to: 1) build youth suicide prevention capacity through regional training centers, 2) provide early identification/gatekeeper training for caregivers through these centers; 3) improve suicide risk assessments, management and treatment for providers using evidence-based practices; and 4) provide resiliency training for adolescents. Cultural competence will be built into each intervention. We will also focus on two other areas of need: military families and high-risk communities. To build youth resiliency and ensure cultural competency for military families, the Sources of Strength program will be delivered to Fort Drum0affiliated families in Jefferson and Lewis Counties and to the training center clinical staff. For high-risk communities with a recent rise in youth suicides or suicide attempts, Competent Communities/Schools training using the Lifelines™ curriculum will be delivered. This approach will effectively embed youth suicide prevention practices statewide through regional dissemination of evidence-based, best practice, culturally competent training. Through execution of this comprehensive youth suicide prevention program, we will serve an estimated 42,000 staff, children and families throughout the 3-year project period. The cry for help from youth at risk of suicide in our New York State communities is substantial. The proposed Youth Suicide Prevention program will help to save lives of these at-risk youth and thus improve the overall public health of New York State.

North Carolina’s youth suicide prevention program will focus on the needs of the following special populations: children of military families, youth within the juvenile justice system and the LGBTQ.
Provision of a comprehensive array of suicide prevention programs will address suicidal behavior, risk and protective factors of youth from military families.  Programs shall include two levels of adult gatekeeper training, suicide prevention curriculum for students, parent education and postvention education.
Staffs who serve incarcerated youth in detention and youth development centers will receive postvention education and the needs of the LGBTQ youth population will be further explored through a collaborative partnership with the Rape Prevention Education (RPE) Program and focus groups with youth who identify themselves as LGBTQ.
The state’s Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services’ Centers for Prevention Resources (CPRs) that provide screening, assessment and referral services to youth at risk for suicide, mental health disorders and substance abuse will also receive suicide prevention/intervention training in order to increase their skill level to detect and refer any young person in North Carolina who is considered at-risk of suicide.
The state’s former Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force will be modified into an Advisory Council in partnership with state’s Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services.  The Advisory Council will include youth serving providers and stakeholders including high school and college student representatives and youth members from the special populations identified:  military families, juvenile justice and LGBTQ.

The Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation (OSPF) is pleased to present Ohio’s Campaign for Hope, developed in response to SAMHSA’s State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention Cooperative Agreements.  Ohio’s Campaign will provide a multi-pronged approach of suicide prevention initiatives, serving Ohio’s at-risk youth (ages 15 to 24) as well as the adults who serve them.  OSPF will equip, mobilize and support its statewide network of Suicide Prevention Coalitions to assure the engagement of community stakeholders as well as the delivery of locale sensitive, culturally competent services.  At-risk populations, including youth residing in high risk counties, military families as well as youth involved in the foster care and juvenile justice systems and GLBT communities will be targeted with transformative services.  Sadly, Ohio has rate of youth suicide that exceeds the national average; suicide is the third leading cause of death for the targeted age population.  Evidence based practices form the core of the initiatives that will initially focus on the twenty counties of highest need.  Evidence based practices to be coordinated through the Coalition network and OSPF project staff include Kognito’s As Risk for High School Educators and Military Families, an on-line, interactive gatekeeper training program for adult servicing youth, Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk, a suicide-specific professional development program for mental health professionals, and the youth suicide risk assessment tools-TeenScreen and Signs of Suicide.  OSPF will also market and promote the National Lifeline information and resources in a cadre of different manners. OSFP anticipates that 20,000 adult serving youth will be served through the three year program implementation program and that 10,000 youth will participate in suicide risk assessments.  Those determined to be at-risk will receive follow up and referral services to assure active and timely engagement in the community-based mental health system.  OSPF will also engage former GLS grant participants that are community based mental health centers to serve as peer mentors to assist communities throughout the State in successful engagement and tracking of at-risk youth as they access local treatment services.  External evaluation of Ohio’s Campaign will be completed by the research team at Case Western Reserve University.

The State of Oklahoma proposes to utilize this funding opportunity for the continued provision of the Oklahoma Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Initiative.  Funding for the initiative will be used to implement evidence-based youth (ages 10-24) suicide prevention programs throughout the State of Oklahoma through community-based contracted providers and through the coordination and implementation of the state’s suicide prevention plan.  As a Cohort I and IV grantee of SAMHSA’s Garrett Lee Smith initiative, the State of Oklahoma has taken important steps toward the development of a public health infrastructure that is conducive to the prevention of suicide.  Targeted projects were initiated in communities, universities, schools, tribal governments, hospitals, faith communities, armed forces, mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities, and other youth-serving agencies.
Project goals are to:

• Decrease suicide deaths and attempts among youth age 10-24 with a priority focus on:

• Native American males
• Members of the United States Armed Services (active duty, reservists, and those on Guard status) as well as veterans age 24 and under
• Youth at risk for suicide receiving care from health, mental health, and substance abuse service providers
• Enrolled college students age 24 and under

• Increase community and state-level capacity for suicide prevention

The proposed service area is the state of Oklahoma and four high-risk communities—Oklahoma, Tulsa, Cleveland, and Pittsburg counties – funded to provide community-based prevention services.  Contracted programs will provide gatekeeper training, screening, and promotion of referral networks.  The project will reach nearly 50,000 individuals with suicide prevention training/education (including 900 clinicians and up to 24 colleges/universities).  Approximately 36 communities statewide will receive suicide postvention/prevention consultation and training, and approximately 750 youth at risk for suicide will receive follow up care coordination services to ensure they connect with the appropriate mental health care.  Funding will also be utilized to continue to advance statewide suicide prevention efforts initiated with Cohort I and IV funding.  Statewide efforts will include developing suicide prevention requirements for certified for certified mental health/substance abuse service providers, coordinating gatekeeper and clinical suicide prevention training statewide, coordinating hospital referrals for youth at risk for suicide, implement university suicide prevention training, and provide suicide postvention and crisis consultation to communities.

Oregon’s Caring Connections Program will be implemented by the Oregon Public Health Division Youth Suicide Prevention Program in 14 counties and 9 Tribes. Project activities include: a coalition; community awareness campaigns; gatekeeper training; attempt reports by emergency departments to document patient access to community resources after discharge for treatment for a suicide attempt, and use of those data to determine the need for outreach; comprehensive high school based RESPONSE program; and evaluation. The nine recognized Oregon tribes will hold a youth gathering with educational, cultural, and team-building activities, speakers, and information to increase protective factors for youth. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among youth. The goal is to reduce suicide among youth aged 15-24.

The program is implemented in the county and tribal sites by existing Prevention Coordinators. Site selection is based on four criteria: suicide and suicide attempt rates, letter of intent, and finalization of contracting elements. Prevention coordinators will implement gatekeeper training, work with schools to implement RESPONSE, and convene an existing local coalition to implement community awareness campaigns. Emergency departments will report suicide attempts and results of follow up calls, and use those data to determine the need for outreach. The project evaluator will work with the State Advisory Committee to monitor progress and plan for future expansion of program activities statewide. Expected short-term project outcomes include: increased referrals to care, increased linkage to care, decreased barriers to care, increased knowledge among clinicians, crisis response workers, school staff, youth, and lay persons, and increased social support for survivors.   
     
The Oregon Caring Connections Program, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is implemented by the Oregon Department of Human Services in partnership with the Association of Oregon Community Mental Health Programs, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Portland State University Regional Institute for Human Services, the Oregon Partnership, the Office of Multicultural Health, other advocacy organizations, and local care systems and educational institutions.

The Institute of Medicine’s the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (U.S. DHHS, 2001a) clearly identified primary care as a potential source for identification, triage, and brief treatment for suicidal youth.  Youth Suicide Prevention in Primary Care (YSP-PC) will build on the success of our current SAMHSA State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention Grant by expanding our reach from three counties in northeastern Pennsylvania to eight additional counties in two new regions of the state (southeast and west), the counties with the greatest number of suicide deaths in the Commonwealth.  The project will provide primary care providers with the resources necessary to increase a) provider knowledge and comfort with assessing for suicide risk, b) the identification of youth at increased risk for suicide, and c) the number of youth referred from primary care who successfully engage in behavioral health treatment.
In order to achieve this aim, we have five objectives:

1. Create state and county level advisory boards consisting of a broad range of stakeholders.
2. Provide medical practices with educational materials and training that will improve the PCP’s knowledge, confidence and skills to identify and refer at risk youth.
3. Provide PCPs free access to a web-based, patient self-report screening tool to assess for suicide and related risk factors.
4. Increase the integration of behavioral health services with medical services.
5. Provide clinical training to behavioral health providers who receive referrals and threat those at risk for suicide.

There are a number of cultural factors associated with our proposed efforts.  While our first grant focused mostly on Caucasian, on low income, rural practices, the YSP-PC project will expand to work with urban and suburban environments, families from a wider socioeconomic status, and broader range of ethnic groups (e.g., Asian, Hispanic).  Each demographic provides its own nuances related to risk that will be addressed by local advisory groups.  We are also collaborating closely with Pennsylvania’s Medical Home Program to recruit practices since these PCPs already engage in innovative practice models.  We have established a partnership with a medical and behavioral health clinic that specifically treats LGBT youth, a university-based health center, and will explore extending our screening program to both juvenile justice and military families.  All of these efforts will occur in primary care settings.  Our proposal will expand YSP-PC to at least 30 primary care practices by the third year of the project, enabling us to screen over 7,500 youth annually.  As with our current grant, we will continue to call upon our Advisory Board comprised of public and private entities, including state medical associations, managed care organizations, state government, academic and clinical professionals, as well as survivors of suicide to provide oversight, guidance, credibility, and support to our project.

The Rhode Island Youth Suicide Prevention Program (RIYSPP) will implement evidence-based interventions in selected schools and community-based organizations serving adolescents and their families.  The project provides a safety net for at-risk youth, instituting screening/referral protocols, gatekeeper training, enhancements to college curricula, and media strategies.  Target populations include sexual minorities, racial/ethnic youth, military personnel and their families.
RIYSPP will focus on adolescents and youth adults, ages 15-24 living in Rhode Island’s “Core” cities.  These cities are characterized by high rates of children living in poverty (15% or more), large minority populations, and other risk factors such as an over-representation of youth involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems, higher rates of child abuse, neglect and domestic violence.  The six interventions proposed are:  1) SOS (Signs of Suicide) in high poverty “core” cities to train a minimum of 340 youth, 2) QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) Suicide Prevention Program to train a minimum of 1,255 adults, 3) the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Interactive Screening Program (ISP) implemented in three RI colleges/universities, 4) technical assistance to the RI National Guard and RI Veterans Administration to reach military personnel and their families, 5) integration of suicide prevention course content in Brown University’s Master of Public Health and medical clerkship curricula, and 6) one statewide means restriction media campaign.  The objective is to connect a minimum of 460 youth with new or enhanced services over the three-year grant period.
In 2002, the RI Department of Health created a partnership of public, private and nonprofit agencies, and suicide survivors to develop the Suicide Prevention Framework for Rhode Islanders Ages 15-24 (The Framework).  Plan recommendationswere developed utilizing surveillance data and statewide assessments of program resources, legislation, and state capacity.  The 2005 RI Injury Prevention Plan includes Suicide Prevention Framework recommendations:  1) reduce the completed suicide rate and 2) reduce suicide attempts in three priority groups including youth 15 to 24.  Recommendations for suicide prevention in the 2002 and 2005 plans were adapted from SAMHSA’s National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.  The state plan was a three-year endeavor carried out by the RI Injury Community Planning Group Suicide Prevention Subcommittee, which functions as the state coalition.  RIYSPP objectives align directly with the objectives and recommendations of The Framework and will be addressed through the following four program goals:

1. Build state agency infrastructure and capacity to implement and evaluate RIYSPP,
2. Improve coordination and delivery of suicide prevention programs in a variety of settings,
3. Increase awareness that suicide is a public health issue and that it is preventable, and
4. Expand and enhance state agency monitoring and evaluation capacity.

Anticipated number of people to be served:  5,000 per year, 15,000 over three years.

South Dakota’s Community Partnership for Suicide Prevention (CPSP) will strengthen the capacity in South Dakota communities and schools to plan, implement, and sustain evidence-based suicide prevention programs that reduce suicide attempts and fatalities. Local community Project Sites will also increase their ability to collect, analyze, and present local suicide related data. Additionally, the project will work with colleges or universities and veteran populations.
South Dakota’s suicide rate ranks as 9th highest in the United States across age groups and 7th highest for youth and young adults age 15 to 24. The suicide rate for this age group (20.2 per 100,000) is almost double the national rate (11.0). In people ages 15-19, the suicide rate in South Dakota (20.3) is more than two-and-a-half times the national rate (7.6). In an effort to reduce suicide attempts and completions in South Dakota, the CPSP will provide continued growth in the referral and service network between schools, community mental health centers, substance abuse providers, juvenile justice, and child protective services. This system of care will be strengthened through training and technical assistance so that communities can create a safety net for identifying, referring and assisting those at risk for suicide.
 
The CPSP is based on the South Dakota Strategy for Suicide Prevention, a state plan created by a public and private organization partnership, and will target youth and young adults aged 14-24. Specifically, the program will 1) create Local Community Groups (LCGs) that are public-private partnerships focused on suicide prevention; 2) provide trainings and technical assistance to members of each LCG and school staff; 3) provide a student curriculum in schools within Project Site communities; 4) organize a gatekeeper training for community members; 5) develop local suicide prevention policies among multiple agencies and groups within the community including methods and procedures for tracking suicide related data; 6) implement suicide prevention campaigns, 7) provide information to parents, 8) deliver information and trainings that provide attention to the culture of military personnel and their families. The CPSP hopes to reach 2000 youth and over 3000 adults with training, information and education throughout the life of the grant.

South Dakota’s Division of Mental Health (DMH) will support this grant project through grant funding to local community groups. The DMH will work with consultants experienced in suicide prevention to provide the training and technical assistance such communities require. The Workgroup that helped develop the state suicide prevention plan will serve as an ad-hoc steering committee and work with lead contacts from each community (who will form the advisory group) to provide oversight and feedback to the project.

The Tennessee Lives Count, Youth Suicide Prevention Early Intervention Project (TLC) is a statewide early intervention/prevention project designed to reduce suicides and suicide attempts for youth (ages 10-24).  TLC plans to build on the successes of its first two grant cycles by continuing its gatekeeper training projects but adding components related to youth access to mental health and crisis services and the implementation of postvention plans in schools after a crisis has occurred.
With an annual average of 94 Tennessee youth dying by suicide over the past ten years, the state suicide death rate is 7.7 per 100,000, exceeding the national suicide death rate of 7.1 per 100,000 (2000-2007).  The suicide rate for this age cohort further exceeds the nation’s rate in two of the state’s three grand regions (East at 7.9 per 100,000 and Middle at 8.8 per 100,000) (CDC, 2010; TDOH, 2009).
TLC will offer two-hour QPR to 1,500 participants and two-day ASIST workshops to 100 participants, as well as a one-day workshop addressing the issue of suicide among LGBTQ youth for 200 persons working with this population.  TLC will coordinate training for 100 Emergency Department staff and 100 clinical mental health providers.  All of these efforts to enhance the safety net for youth at risk of suicide will be in collaboration with other federal grant programs and state agency initiatives.
TLC will incorporate a pilot study involving youth identified by Youth Villages Specialized Crisis Service.  Of the 26,705 youth screened by Youth Villages between 2007 and 2010, 67.3% were assessed due to suicidal ideation, a suicide attempt, or an active plan for a suicide attempt.  As part of a pilot study, 250 youth in the Middle Grand Region of Tennessee will receive enhanced follow-up services to increase referral retention, enhance hope and promote connectedness.
TLC will also develop a postvention plan for a minimum of 35 schools, including a face-to-face training component for school administrators and staff on how to respond in the unfortunate event of the suicide death of a student or staff, as well as at least twenty telephonic and six face-to-face consultations after a suicide death has occurred.
TLC will build a collaborative network as a complement to the TSPN Regional Networks to address suicide among students in higher education.  Fifty tenured faculty and long-term staff will receive certification as QPR instructors who will in turn train 12,500 people within their campus community in the program.
Lastly, a targeted social marketing campaign will ensure that at least 100,000 Tennesseans are made aware of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, reducing youth suicide and mental health stigma.  All activities and the development of a sustainability plan will be under the oversight of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health, with advisory input from the TLC Youth Suicide Prevention Taskforce and the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network.

The Texas Youth Suicide Prevention Project (TYSP) will provide suicide prevention and early intervention activities statewide targeting youth at higher risk of suicide. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) will provide leadership for the TYSP whose purpose is to develop and implement youth early intervention and prevention strategies of the Texas State Plan for Suicide Prevention and the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, and to monitor the effectiveness of the strategies.

The goals of the project are to 1) provide information to the public about youth suicide, risk factors, and prevention; 2) train health, school and community representatives to identify and refer youth who are at risk of suicide; and 3) screen youth in military families and refer those at risk.  DSHS will continue working with their project partners -- Mental Health America of Texas (MHAT) in Austin and the Center for Health Care Services (CHCS) in San Antonio. 

MHAT will ensure that all statewide public awareness and capacity building grant activities take place.  Activities include an annual symposium, bilingual education materials in a variety of media, prevention and postvention toolkit, nonproprietary gatekeeper development and training, model protocols, social marketing, and on-line web-based trainings.  MHAT will also develop and maintain the website www.TexasSuicidePrevention.org.Key numbers to be served in three years: gatekeepers for higher risk youth - 4,050; gatekeeper instructors trained – 70; educational materials distributed - 142,700; symposium attendance – 700.

CHCS will be responsible for youth suicide screening assessment, referral and follow-up
at Brooke Army Medical Center Child and Adolescent Pediatric Clinic and Fort Sam Houston Independent School District.  CHCS began the first pilot study in the nation that focused on providing community mental health and suicide risk screening and referrals for youth in military families.  Redstone Analytics will be responsible for data analysis and key aspects of the SAMHSA cross-site and local evaluation efforts.   Key numbers to be served in three years: youth in military families -750.

The Center for Health and Learning and the Vermont Department of Mental Health are partnering to strengthen and expand youth suicide prevention and intervention in Vermont through collaboration between multiple agencies and organizations. There are six major areas of focus:

1. Building infrastructure in Vermont for youth suicide prevent ion by engaging the Vermont Youth Suicide Prevention Coalition (VYSPC) in six meetings per year and writing a multi-year plan.

2. Development of a statewide public information campaign aimed at normalizing help seeking behavior for mental health issues, referring the public to resources (e.g., 2-1-1 line, local and web-based resources and including production of brochures, posters and media placements for targeted audiences) and collaboration with the United Ways of Vermont to promote the use of the 2-1-1 information line for suicide prevention.

3. Development of the Umatter for Schools Training based on the Maine Model. This includes four components: a) Gatekeeper Training b) Protocols Development c) Training of Trainers for those delivering the Lifelines student lessons d) Staff and Parent Awareness programs.

4. Gatekeeper training based on the Connect model developed by NAMI NH for four major audiences: a) Primary Care Providers b) Law Enforcement c) Youth Serving Professionals (AHS related), Mental Health and Substance Abuse Professionals, Juvenile Justice, Foster Care, Social Workers, community-based professionals, and d) Emergency Medical Care Providers. The latter two will be a Training of Trainers where participants will be asked to go back to their settings and conduct awareness-raising sessions.

5. Intensive community-based intervention by collaborating with the VT Department of Health on identifying two communities engaged in implementing the Strategic Prevention Framework for Substance Abuse prevention and implementing the New Hampshire Connect model.

6. Working with Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP) at the University of Vermont to implement targeted interventions aimed at college-age students.

The Virginia Department of Health’s (VDH) proposal, Virginia Youth Suicide Prevention Program (VYSPP), expands the suicide prevention infrastructure developed in Virginia under the previous six years of Garrett Lee Smith Act (GLS) funding.  These funds will enable VDH to continue to provide consultation, evidence-based resources and gatekeeper training to youth servicing providers, and these funds will allow VDH to engage new audiences in our suicide prevention approach, including military/veterans and their families, mental health/substance abuse professionals, and primary care providers.  The Campus Suicide Prevention Center of Virginia will also continue to provide valuable consultation, resources, and training to all 43 public and 115 private Virginia colleges.
The specific goals of the project are to:  (1) provide state leadership to secure broad-based support for suicide prevention in Virginia (2) raise statewide awareness about risk factors for suicide and encourage help seeking among providers serving youth, military/veterans and their families; (3) improve comprehensive community-based prevention/early intervention programming in specific target areas in Virginia; (4) improve campus based suicide prevention and intervention at Virginia institutions of higher education; (5) improve youth suicide surveillance, needs assessment and program evaluation.
The proposed project includes state, community, and campus based approaches to preventing suicide in Virginia.  At the state level, VDH will coordinate targeted gatekeeper training to youth serving providers (foster care, juvenile justice, mental health professionals, substance abuse, and primary care providers) and military/veterans and their families promote public and provider awareness, and promote comprehensive community, school, and campus approaches to suicide prevention.  Two sub grantees, the Crisis Center Bristol and Crisis Line of Central Virginia, will work in their local communities to build and maintain local coalitions, coordinate local awareness campaigns, educate and train school staff on suicide prevention/intervention, and train and provide resources to youth serving community organizations.  A third sub grantee affiliated with James Madison University will direct the Campus Suicide Prevention Center of Virginia, working with colleges and universities across the state to build the infrastructure necessary to promote mental health for all students, identify  and support those with mental health concerns and effectively respond to individuals who are at risk for suicide. The program will serve 525,000 Virginians in the first year of funding and 2 million throughout the lifetime of the project.

From Classroom to Community:  A Team Approach to Youth Suicide Prevention
The purpose of this proposed project is to implement youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies, grounded in public/private collaboration, in three regions of Washington State, where the local suicide rates are higher than federal rates; these include Lower Columbia College in Cowlitz County, Sunnyside, Mt. Adams, and Mabton School Districts in Yakima County and Bethel School District in south Pierce Counties.
We intend to increase the number of community mental health substance abuse providers and school personnel who are trained to assess, manage and treat youth at risk for suicide.  We intend to increase the number of youth who are identified as at risk of suicide, and the number of youth who are referred for behavioral health services and finally, we intend to increase the number of youth at risk of suicide who receive behavioral health services.
One of the communities that we selected has a high percentage of Native American and Hispanic youth, another community that has a high percentage of military families and the third community that is experiencing dramatically high numbers of suicide attempts in their 20-24 year old young adults.  We anticipate serving a total of 4,079 adults and youth throughout the grant period.  In the first year we will reach 1,515 adults and youth primary through on-line and in-person training.  We will recruit community organizations and private practitioners who will provide treatment for those youth who are screened and would benefit from a mental health or substance abuse referral.  In the following two years we will increase the number of youth who are screened and referred to services.
Care Coordinators will work closely with school personnel-counselors, nurses and Prevention/Intervention Specialist to develop functional care teams that screen—using the GAIN-SS tool – and refer.  Referrals will increase as a result of education in health classrooms – using HELP, a curriculum designated on the Best Practices Registry – so that students can recognize when a peer is distressed and k now what to do.  Referrals will increase as more teachers are educated on the warning signs and strategies for getting the student to help through the on-line training, At-Risk, another curriculum that has been designated as a Best Practice.  Training on youth suicide assessment and intervention – using the 2-day ASIST workshop (another Best Practices-designee) – will result in improved screening, a greater ability to disable a suicide plan and create a safe plan.

Acknowledging the promotion of life in our West Virginian Youth, the Adolescent Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention (ASPEN) project works vigorously toward creating a comprehensive recognition and referral network in West Virginia. Suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death in our West Virginian Youth ages 15-24, ranking our state at 11th in the nation for this age population. In order to combat the "silent epidemic" for adolescent suicide within our state, ASPEN provides comprehensive, multifaceted, protective measures of suicide prevention and early intervention for the adolescent population of West Virginia. Direct services of ASPEN are provided in a multitude of venues and populations in order to enhance adolescent suicide prevention by increasing awareness, screening, and access to clinical services for identified at-risk youth. Trainings are conducted to acknowledge the prevalence and significance of suicide in order to promote it as a public health concern as well as to provide for increased recognition, referral, and protective factors for both professionals and students. Education, communication, collaboration, and connections among the entities interacting with at risk youth are enhanced in order to rectify system gaps so as to facilitate a culturally competent, caring, comprehensive, sustainable suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention system of care.

West Virginia is building on its initial ASPEN experiences in expanding to additional populations of at-risk adolescents in Kanawha County, as well as new geographic regions consisting of five mostly rural counties with high incident rates. In the newly identified counties, the project proposes to serve youth in the secondary schools by increasing awareness and screening; ultimately facilitating a mobile quick response team to serve at-risk students.

Collaboration with key stakeholders has enhanced the implementation of the project as well as providing for increased efforts of sustainability. ASPEN will continue to work with the West Virginia Council for the Prevention of Suicide as a key stakeholder in the project. In addition, collaborative efforts with secondary and post-secondary school systems, child-serving agencies, non-profit menta1 health agencies, primary care clinics, and hospitals will facilitate cross-system identification, referral and response for at-risk individuals.

The evaluation component of the ASPEN project will enable progress monitoring in frequent measurement of goal and objective implementation. In addition, such measures will provide timely input of successfully carrying out project directives. Finally, results will be shared with other counties throughout West Virginia and Appalachia, as well as nationally, in order to achieve a comprehensive adolescent suicide prevention approach.

The overarching mission of the Wyoming Youth Suicide Prevention(WYSP) Initiative is the reduction of suicidal behaviors among the approximately 110,000 Wyoming youth aged 10-24. The WYSP Initiative employs a public-health approach to prevention, relying on evidence-based models, best practices, and strong program evaluation. Emphasis will be placed on stigma reduction, environmental change, and positive community norms. The strategies proposed are based on the State Suicide Prevention Plan and build on existing state and community youth suicide prevention efforts and partnerships. An innovative component of the instant proposal is a plan to utilize the five-step strategic framework model within targeted communities. This process will include local needs assessment, strategic planning, implementation, and program evaluation of comprehensive suicide prevention strategies.

The state agency responsible for the WYSP Initiative is the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH). Within WDH, the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Division has primary responsibility for implementation of program objectives and operational oversight of the initiative. The Division provides state-level leadership, funding through provider contracts and technical support for all suicide prevention and early intervention activities in Wyoming. The Division also is responsible for leading statewide media efforts and for providing training on suicide alertness and intervention skills training across Wyoming.

The WYSP Initiative comprises five key objectives that directly support the State of Wyoming Suicide Prevention Plan and the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. These are (1) Statewide Coordination and Leadership; (2) School-Based Initiatives; (3) Community-Based Prevention and Early Intervention; (4) Programs for High-Risk Youth; and (5) Anti-Stigma and Public Awareness. The initiative is supported by an active Wyoming Suicide Prevention Advisory Council (WySPAC), which includes leaders and stakeholders from across the state with a special interest and/or expertise in areas related to youth suicide prevention. WySPAC provides advice and consultation in development, implementation and evaluation of the objectives and programs of the WYSP Initiative.