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Suicide Prevention in Juvenile Correctional Facilities

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Youth who have contact with the juvenile justice system are at higher risk for suicide than youth in the general population. This presents a challenge for state juvenile correctional administrators who are responsible for implementing policies and procedures to ensure the safety of all youth in custody.
 

Working closely with the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators (CJCA), SPRC developed Suicide Prevention in Juvenile Correctional Facilities, a two-hour curriculum for youth correctional CEOs in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and major metropolitan counties. 
 

SPRC and CJCA also developed a two-part webinar series titled Suicide Prevention in Juvenile Detention and Correctional Facilities, in partnership with Lindsay Hayes, Project Director, National Center on Institutions and Alternatives.  These webinars are for administrators and staff who are responsible for creating and/or implementing suicide prevention policies within juvenile detention facilities, including:

  • State juvenile correctional administrators
  • Facility directors
  • Mental health directors
  • Training directors
     

Both the in-person course and the webinar series describe the demographic and facility characteristics of juvenile suicide and teach the eight critical components of a sound suicide prevention policy:

  • Staff training
  • Intake screening and ongoing assessment
  • Communication
  • Housing
  • Levels of supervision
  • Intervention
  • Reporting
  • Mortality review
     

The webinar series can be viewed online.

For more information about preventing suicide among youth in contact with the juvenile justice system: