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 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, 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 evidence based 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, expand availability of support services for survivors of suicide.

The Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) in the Injury, Suicide and Violence Prevention
(ISVP) Unit of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) 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 target populations: 1) Hispanic/Latino(a) youth; 2) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning (LGBTQ) 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.

The OSP will select seven Colorado counties/regions through a competitive request for proposals process open to 21 of Colorado's 64 counties that have suicide death rates above the U.S. rate and/or hospitalization rates above the Colorado rate for 10-17 year olds. The selected seven counties will participate in Project Safety Net from October 2009 to September 2012. Adults working with the populations identified above, as well as parents or caregivers, are the target population of the community initiative. Participating communities will work with a local coalition and with a subcommittee advisory council of the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado (SPCC); 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 years of the 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 LBGTQ 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 ISVP Unit will conduct process, outcome, and performance evaluations throughout the cooperative agreement, and will contract with an evaluation team from Colorado State University (CSU) 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.

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.

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. Proposed goals include information dissemination, collaboration with prevention stakeholders, gatekeeper training, and data collection/evaluation. The Governor's Council on Suicide Prevention will provide input and evaluate the project. An Awareness to Action Academy will be held for advocates/survivors and mental health professionals to increase suicide assessment and advocacy skills.

There are five goals that support this project, all of which reflect goals of the Idaho Suicide Prevention Plan:
1) Disseminate evidence-informed practices, including an awareness campaign toolkit, Signs of Suicide (SOS) program, and culturally appropriate practices. Train QPR trainers statewide.
2) Conduct Idaho's nationally recognized gatekeeper training, Better Today’s/Better
Tomorrows, with trainees recruited from adult caregivers representing high risk groups, including 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.
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. Also consult with SPAN Idaho and others for Awareness Campaign activities, including evidence informed materials relevant to crisis workers, medical response and first responders, juvenile justice, childcare, foster care, sexual orientation, and previous attempters.
4) Provide stakeholders and mental health practitioners with an Awareness to Action
Academy, including an opportunity to build suicide assessment expertise and learn advocacy/leadership skills to lead Idaho from awareness of suicide risk and protective factors to a state where advocates and mental health professionals are leaders for action.
5) Participate in the cross-site evaluation including GPRA data and conduct local evaluations including quantitative and qualitative input from program participants, public, private, tribal, and family stakeholders to determine whether the project is achieving its goals, objectives, outcomes, and processes.

Most 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 the Awareness to Action Academy. Collaborating with the Council on Suicide Prevention will assure consistency with state priorities and support implementation through evidence-based practices.

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 SJ.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.

Under the leadership of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of Mental Health (OMH) this grant will expand statewide the youth suicide prevention efforts of the 2001 LA Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force. After receiving funding from the SAMHSA Garret Lee Smith Grant in 2006, the established Task Force transitioned into the new statewide collaborative known as the LPYSP. This group serves as the governing body to undertake the oversight, development, monitoring, and evaluation of program activities to reduce youth suicides and suicide attempts in LA.

The project targets 15000 youth and young adult ages 10 to 24 years old consisting of middle, high, and college students and professionals (such as OMH, DOE, 211 providers, Veterans ADM. staff) 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 mental or emotional disorders, or substance abuse 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 systems, substance abuse and mental health programs, foster care systems and other child youth support agencies that target at-risk youth population will increase their competence and awareness of youth suicide risk.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) Youth Suicide Prevention Project seeks to reduce the rate of suicide mortality and morbidity among young people ages 10-24. Its goal is to build upon earlier efforts focused on at-risk youth in communities disproportionately affected by suicide.  

The priority populations of the project include:

(1) Youth ages 10-24;
(2) Sexual minority youth, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender; (3) Youth who experience dating violence, bullying, community violence or other forms 
      of victimization;
(4) Native American youth and other youth of color;
(5) Other priority populations as identified in the regional assessments.

In Massachusetts, the risk for suicide mortality and morbidity varies significantly by region.  Data analysis identified 8 health regions out of 27 with youth suicide rates or rates of non-fatal self-inflicted injury higher than those in the state and nation.

To achieve our goal, the project has five objectives and strategies:

(1) Select 3 regional partnerships from the 8 priority regions through an RFP process;
(2) Conduct an assessment and planning process in each of the 3 regions to identify and
      describe priority populations and develop a plan and timeline for prevention,
      intervention and postvention activities with priority populations;
(3) Increase regional capacity among agency staff, gatekeepers and other stakeholders;
(4) Implement prevention, intervention and postvention strategies in years 2 and 3;
(5) Develop a timely, routine notification system in the 3 regions in order to provide
      postvention services.

The Transforming Youth Suicide Prevention in Michigan (TYSP-Mi) Program engages programs/individuals to expand suicide prevention in the state and more strongly emphasize primary prevention and early intervention. The Program will provide technical assistance and grants to local communities for improved programming and service coordination; regional ASIST and AMSR trainings; and continue to build a strong state infrastructure. The TYSP-Mi Program is mapped to particular Awareness and Intervention recommendations in the State Plan. For the next three years, program activities will include:

• Awareness: The Michigan Department of Community Health and its partners will: a) coordinate and support regional trainings to instruct at least 550 community caregivers in ASIST and 750 professionals in AMSR; and b) convene the TYSP-Mi Program Advisory Group which includes a wide range of members from child and youth support programs and agencies to provide oversight and expert input for the Program. TYSP-Mi Program staff also will work with the Michigan Suicide Prevention Coalition to put a MiSPC Youth Suicide Prevention subcommittee in place to assure that youth suicide prevention issues are addressed in the state plan implementation.

• Intervention: Eight communities will be awarded grants to develop or enhance comprehensive local prevention and early intervention efforts. A Community Technical Assistance Program will be available to all communities in the state to assist with a) acquiring the skills and knowledge needed to implement a comprehensive community prevention/early intervention program, and b) initiating the process of planning a course of action for their community.
The program will have a strong, three part evaluation process: 1) Self-evaluation at the state and local levels lead by Dr. Cynthia Ewell Foster from the University of Michigan; 2) participation in the national cross-site evaluation effort; and 3) collecting, analyzing, and supplying mandated GPRA data items to SAMHSA.

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 is working with collaborating partners The University of Nebraska Public Policy Center and Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska, who are 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 problem 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; implementing screening for suicide with high risk youth; supporting young returning veterans and military families in Nebraska; and strengthening Nebraska's public/private state suicide prevention coalition. The project will promote recognition of the signs of suicide and how/where to get help in Nebraska.

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 monitor the grants progress toward reaching its goals of screening 600-700 high risk youth each year; training 25% of the state's behavioral health providers to treat youth and young returning veterans at risk for suicide; training 600 gatekeepers across the state each year to recognize and act on signs of suicide; assisting 50% of the state's trauma centers to implement means restriction protocols for youth at high risk of suicide; and working with communities to ensure local support is available for young returning veterans and military families.

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 decades, Nevada has had one of the highest suicide rates in the nation and has consistently maintained a rate that is twice the national average. 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

Oregon's Caring Connections Program will be implemented by the Oregon Public Health Division Youth Suicide Prevention Program in 22 counties and Tribes. The 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 goal of the program is to reduce suicide among youth aged 15-24 through implementation in 22 county and Tribal sites by existing Prevention Coordinators. Site selection is based on: suicide and suicide attempt rates, letter of intent and finalization of contracting elements. Preference will be given to all nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon. 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) will be 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, local care systems and educational institutions.

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 9thi 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 Texas Youth Suicide Prevention Project (YSPP) will provide suicide prevention and early intervention activities statewide targeting youth at higher risk of suicide. Project activities include: primary care initiative for youth in military families; best practice based gatekeeper curriculum; integration of suicide prevention in juvenile probation and education systems; and public awareness for college students through social marketing.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) will provide leadership for the YSPP 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 project will be statewide and target youth at higher risk of suicide and attempts through education/health/mental health/juvenile justice and social service systems that work with these populations. These youth include: substance abuse or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse, youth at risk of mental or emotional disorder, juvenile probation, foster care, primary care, attempters, gay/lesbian/bisexual/
transgender, youth in military families, and Latina youth.

Goals of the project are to broaden the public's awareness of youth suicide, its risk factors and prevention; increase community capacity to identify and refer youth at higher risk of suicide and suicide attempts; and develop and implement a community-based youth suicide prevention program serving high risk youth and families in the military. Measurable objectives are to increase public knowledge of youth suicide, its risk factors and best practices for prevention; increase the number of gatekeepers in schools, juvenile justice and other community settings serving youth with higher rates of suicide; and increase the number of youth in military families who receive suicide prevention and mental health screening, referrals, treatment and follow-up.

Strategies 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 screening, assessment, referral and follow-up.

ASPEN is a project that will provide comprehensive, multifaceted, protective measures of suicide prevention and early intervention for the adolescent population, ages 15-24. Direct services of ASPEN will be 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 will be 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 will be 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 will build 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 Kanawha county, efforts to reach new populations of adolescents, in addition to new populations of individuals interacting with youth, will include at-risk adolescents presenting at hospital emergency departments, students in higher education, veterans, juvenile justice agencies, foster care, and youth serving community entities. 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 will enhance the implementation of the project as well as provide 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.