Suicide

The purpose of this page is to provide information. It is NOT intended to be used for crisis prevention or intervention, or as a substitute for seeking professional help. The Commonwealth of Kentucky and its Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities provide no guarantee of the accuracy of, nor warranties of any kind related to, the material provided by external entities. Use of this information is at the sole risk of the user. Visit Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services website

Suicide Prevention Education for Middle and High School Staff
KRS 156.095 requires all school district employees with job duties requiring direct contact with students in grades six (6) through twelve (12) to fulfill one hour of high-quality (in-person, live streaming, or video recording) professional development training every year to review suicide prevention. In years that training is not provided, new hires shall be provided suicide prevention materials for review. This training may be included in the four days of professional development under KRS 158.070. KRS 161.011 permits suicide prevention training for classified employees.

Suicide Prevention Information for Middle and High School Students
KRS 156.095 requires that every public school shall provide suicide prevention awareness information in person, by live streaming, or via a video recording information to all students in grades six (6) through twelve (12) by September 15 of each year. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services posts suicide prevention awareness and training information on its webpage.

This page offers evidence-based recommendations for creating safe and effective messages to raise public awareness that suicide is a serious and preventable public health problem. 

National Association of School Psychologists – The suicide of a student has a rippling effect in the school environment as well as in the greater community, as a single adolescent death by suicide increases the risk of additional suicides. The process by which a completed suicide (or at times, suicidal behavior) increases the suicidal behavior of others is called contagion. 

The Public-Private Partnership Advancing the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention hosted a webpage dedicated to suicide prevention, statistics, strategies and research. This site also includes podcasts on suicide prevention. (Department of Health and Human Resources)

Too Good for Drugs develops a framework of social skills to establish and promote setting reachable goals, making responsible decisions, communicating effectively, identifying, and managing emotions, and bonding with pro-social peers; plus, peer pressure refusal, problem-solving, and media literacy. Students also gain substance prevention education at age-appropriate levels.

After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools addresses Objective 4.2 of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Increase the proportion of school districts and private school associations with evidence-based programs designed to address serious childhood and adolescent distress and prevent suicide.

This Toolkit was created by the Health Care Alliance for Response to Adolescent Depression (HEARD) in 2013 (updated in 2017), in response to a need for schools to promote student mental health and wellbeing, to prevent suicide and, in particular, how to respond after a suicide loss. The Toolkit convenes national best practices from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH), and several other organizations. It serves as a resource to fulfill California law AB 2246, The Pupil Suicide Prevention Act (2016), which requires that all public schools serving students in grades 7-12 have a Pupil Suicide Prevention Policy. This document has been updated to reflect both this need and this policy requirement. The tools and resources provided in this updated Toolkit are meant to complement what schools may already have in place and to help initiate the implementation of a Pupil Suicide Prevention Policy. (Heard Alliance)

National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement (NCSCB) – Guidelines designed to respond to the needs of students and staff after a suicide has impacted the school environment.

The goal of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) is to understand and prevent suicide

Preventing Youth Suicide – Brief Fact and Tips

Together, we can create awareness and give emotional support to those who may be contemplating suicide. If you or someone you know is in an emotional distress or suicidal crisis, please call the Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)