Florida School Toolkit for K-12 Educators to Prevent Suicide

Four Steps to Developing a Program The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association recommended a four-step process in 2017 for developing suicide prevention programs in schools. Step 1 —Engage administrators, school boards, and other key players who will endorse the programmatic changes in the school and justify the time it takes to train school personnel and students on suicide prevention. Administrators need to understand the scope of the problem, realize that schools are the most logical places for students to be identified, and know that talking about suicide with students will not increase the risk. In short, administrators need to seek training for themselves and provide the leadership necessary to create a culture of suicide awareness and prevention. Step 2 —Bring personnel together to start the planning process and form a Suicide Prevention Task Force. Be sure to include the key players to promote suicide awareness and intervention. In addition to school personnel, key community mental and medical health personnel, Florida suicide prevention coalition members, local clergy, and parent groups should be included. Step 3 —Provide all key players and task force members with basic information about youth suicide and suicide prevention and emphasize that prevention is possible; everyone plays a role. Step 4 —Develop your school’s or district’s overall strategy for training staff members and students and creating a culture of suicide awareness and prevention. Section 1 SUICIDE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION training of staff, students, and parents student reentry intervention and assessment procedures for at-risk students coordination with community resources awareness of the unique Florida suicide prevention needs Overview FIVE FACETS OF SUICIDE PREVENTION 15