Memo addresses professional development on suicide prevention.

Document addresses professional development on suicide prevention.

The Legislature finds and declares that: a. Suicide is a leading cause of death for young people in this State. According to the Center for Health Statistics in the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, between 1999 and 2001 more than 1,500 young people ages 13 to 18 made suicide attempts which resulted in hospitalization. More than 50 of these attempts were fatal. When young people up to 24 years of age are added to the equation, the number of attempted suicides rises to 3,000 and the number of fatalities rises to nearly 200. b. A suicide can devastate a community. According to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), suicide severely impacts the families and friends left behind, who often wrongly live with extreme shame and guilt over not having prevented the death of their loved one. Moreover, many attempts which do not result in death nonetheless end in serious injury to the victims and lifelong trauma to their families and those who know them. c. A person who is considering suicide may exhibit behavioral warning signs. If someone notices the warning signs of suicide, it may be possible to avert a tragedy. With the possible exception of a parent, no one is better situated than a teacher to detect these signs and to initiate appropriate steps to prevent a suicide attempt. Proper training for teaching staff members can thus save pupils’ lives and save the families and friends of would-be victims the trauma of a suicide or suicide attempt. Moreover, early identification of depression and other problems may help to reduce the number of young people who commit or attempt to commit suicide once they have left school and entered adulthood. d. It is therefore appropriate for the Legislature to require: the State Board of Education to require instruction in suicide prevention as part of any continuing education which public school teaching staff members must complete to maintain their certification; and inclusion of suicide prevention awareness in the Core Curriculum Content Standard in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education.

2. The State Board of Education, in consultation with the New Jersey Youth Suicide Prevention Advisory Council established in the Department of Children and Families pursuant to P.L.2003, c.214 (C.30:9A-22 et seq.), shall, as part of the professional development requirement established by the State board for public school teaching staff members, require each public school teaching staff member to complete at least two hours of instruction in suicide prevention, to be provided by a licensed health care professional with training and experience in mental health issues, in each professional development period. The instruction in suicide prevention shall include information on the relationship between the risk of suicide and incidents of harassment, intimidation, and bullying and information on reducing the risk of suicide in students who are members of communities identified as having members at high risk of suicide.

The Commissioner of the Department of Human Services shall establish a program of youth suicide prevention projects which shall be administered by community mental health services providers in consultation with local boards of education. The objectives of the program shall include but are not limited to the following: a. Classroom instruction or materials designed to achieve the following objectives: to teach students facts about adolescent suicide and how to recognize signs of suicidal tendencies; to inform students of available community services aimed at prevention of suicide; and to increase students’ awareness of the relationship between adolescent suicide and drug and alcohol use. b. Training programs for classroom teachers and other teaching staff members in suicide prevention. c. Nonclassroom school or community based programs such as a 24-hour “hotline” telephone service staffed by trained professional counselors, crisis intervention and postintervention services, parent education programs and programs for the families of suicide victims.

The community mental health services provider shall prepare its funding proposal in cooperation with two or more local boards of education which are interested in participating in the suicide prevention program. The provider also shall agree to provide information and training within the limits of available funds to other local boards of education that are interested in providing for suicide prevention programs, upon their request.

Document addresses professional development on suicide prevention.