Florida School Toolkit for K-12 Educators to Prevent Suicide

Many generations of mental health professionals were taught to have suicidal clients/students sign a contract that they would not harm themselves. Criticisms of these contracts were that mental health professionals might rush or even coerce a student into signing one. Although the use of contracts is still widespread, there is no empirical research to support that contracts were effective in preventing suicide. Contracts also did not protect the professional from liability. It is important to know that safety plans are the gold standard of care. Unlike “no suicide” contracts, safety plans are not developed ahead of time but are developed jointly with the student in crisis. The safety plan focuses on identifying coping strategies and peer and adult support for the student. It includes local and national suicide prevention resources and hotline numbers and crisis text lines. Students are given a copy of the plan they helped develop and are encouraged to review it when they have suicidal thoughts. A sample safety plan is provided in Tool 17. A safety plan must include direct language about what to do in a suicidal crisis. It is noted that some safety plans do not mention the word suicide, but we believe it is essential. We recognize that social media and the Internet are important to teens. Some of the sites that teens visit may promote suicide, and they might receive messages on social networks that encourage suicides. This may need to be addressed in safety plans for students, which would encourage them to visit sites that focus on suicide prevention and to use an app like the Virtual Hope Box, available at apps .apple.com/us/app/virtual-hope-box/id825099621 . This should include avoiding sites that promote suicide and knowing how to report suicidal concerns on the various social media platforms. It might also address the amount of time the student spends on social media if it is not a positive experience for them. School personnel are encouraged to sit alongside the student to emphasize to the student that the safety plan is being developed jointly. Sample safety plans are also available at sprc.org . Notifying Parents of Student At Risk of Suicide Parents are the key to helping the suicidal student and obtaining community-based mental health services. Parents who were not notified of their child’s suicidal behavior have successfully sued school districts. The following suggestions are offered for engaging and supporting parents of a suicidal student. A conference with parents should be held in person rather than by telephone. A suicidal student should not be allowed to leave school on his or her own even if that is what the parents have requested. Begin with asking parents how their child has been doing and if they have noted any changes in their child’s behavior. 1. S tate what you have noticed in their child’s behavior and ask how that fits with what they have seen in their child. 2. A dvise parents to remove lethal means from the home. You can equate this to how you would advise taking car keys from a person who had been drinking. It is important to note that states with stricter gun laws have fewer suicides. Florida has a child access prevention law which states that a person who knows or reasonably should have known that a child under 16 is likely to gain access to a firearm is criminally liable. Unless the firearm was in a locked box, stored in a location a reasonable person would believe to be secure, or secured with a trigger lock, the owner of the firearm is at risk of prosecution. Our experience is that this law is often not enforced. 3. Key school personnel, such as counselors, are encouraged to ask parents directly about their child’s access to a gun and to recommend strongly that parents keep guns safely stored. A specific discussion with parents regarding removing lethal means is one of the most effective prevention but often underutilized strategies. Safety Plans Florida S.T.E.P.S.