Mississippi Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Initiative - Abstract The Mississippi Department of Mental Health (DMH) proposes the Mississippi Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Initiative, a five-year statewide capacity-building project designed to strengthen suicide prevention, intervention, postvention, and crisis response systems for youth ages 10-24. The project will serve youth and families across Mississippi, with targeted implementation in heavily populated, rural, and medically underserved communities experiencing elevated suicide rates, poverty, trauma exposure, adverse childhood experiences, and significant shortages of behavioral health providers. The population of focus includes children, adolescents, and transition-age youth ages 10-24, including youth experiencing depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, trauma, substance use disorders, grief, family instability, and other behavioral health challenges. Special attention will be given to youth served through school systems, institutions of higher education, school-based health clinics, juvenile justice programs, child welfare systems, and community mental health programs. Families and caregivers of youth at risk of suicide will also benefit from project services and support. To address identified capacity gaps, DMH and its partners will implement evidence-based suicide prevention strategies including universal suicide risk screening, suicide risk assessment, referral and care coordination protocols, workforce development, family engagement, postvention services, and system-level improvements. Evidence-based tools and practices will include the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ), PHQ-9A, Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), SAFE-T, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR), Youth Mental Health First Aid, Mental Health First Aid, Signs of Suicide (SOS), Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM), and DMH's Shatter the Silence suicide prevention initiative. The project goal is to increase statewide capacity within schools, healthcare systems, juvenile justice settings, community mental health programs, and other youth-serving organizations to improve suicide prevention, early identification, referral, treatment engagement, continuity of care, and crisis response for youth ages 10–24. Measurable Objectives include: (1)Screen at least 2,500 youth ages 10–24 for suicide risk during the five-year project period using evidence-based screening and assessment tools; (2)Ensure that at least 90% of youth identified as at risk for suicide receive documented safety planning, referral, and follow-up services; (3) Train at least 5,000 educators, healthcare professionals, behavioral health providers, juvenile justice staff, youth-serving professionals, peers, and community members in evidence-based suicide prevention practices; (4) Implement standardized suicide response protocols in 100% of participating agencies by the end of Year One; (5) Increase family engagement and support, with at least 85% of participating families reporting improved confidence in supporting youth safety and accessing behavioral health services; (6) Develop and sustain a statewide data collection, evaluation, and continuous quality improvement system to monitor outcomes, improve service delivery, and support long-term sustainability.
