Local Juvenile Court Joins in Tennessee’s ‘Zero Suicide Initiative’

The Jefferson County Juvenile Court System joined in with Tennessee’s Zero Suicide Initiative Task Force during Suicide Prevention Month, which took place in September.  Members of the initiative wore purple and grey on September 29, to raise awareness of teen suicide in the state. The group encourages people to “Speak Up and Save a Life”.

Tennessee’s Zero Suicide Initiative Task Force is working to implement the concept of “zero suicides” within behavioral health and substance abuse treatment settings across Tennessee.

Members of the Task Force, in concert with the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS), the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network (TSPN), and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) are working to help these agencies eliminate suicides and suicide attempts within their client base through an aggressive yet achievable action plan incorporating best-practice prevention and intervention strategies.

Background

In 2011, the Clinical Care and Intervention Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention released Suicide Care in Systems Framework, a summary of a multi-year study of best-practice suicide prevention efforts within four different programs. The document outlined the concept of “zero suicides”. As defined in Suicide Care in Systems Framework, this concept is “the belief and commitment that suicide can be eliminated in a population under care… by improving service access and quality and through continuous improvement (rendering suicide a “never event” for these populations).

The document also recommended that health care services, behavioral health agencies, and crisis services adopt the “zero suicides” concept, and in doing so take system-wide measures that aggressively work towards the eliminate of suicide within their client base. This involves the implementation of evidence-based clinical care measures.

Following review of Suicide Care in Systems Framework at the February 12, 2014 meeting of TSPN’s Advisory Council meeting, the Council authorized creation of the Zero Suicide Initiative Task Force to pursue statewide promotion of the “zero suicides” concept within in health, behavioral health, and substance abuse treatment settings across Tennessee. This Task Force will be patterned after the Clinical Care and Intervention Task Force which developed the Suicide Care in Systems Framework.

Our state is the first to attempt implementation of the “zero suicides” protocol on the statewide level, in line with TSPN’s established history as a pioneer in the area of state-supported suicide prevention.

Implementation

The Task Force will take the lead working with the aforementioned agencies to set up training sessions in a best-practice suicide prevention protocol for any and all personnel who may come in contact with suicidal persons, from executives to support staff.

These training sessions will incorporate:

(1) suicide prevention, risk assessment, and crisis intervention for all new and current staff members, with annual refresher courses provided,

(2) a customized action plan that outlines which staff members are responsible for counseling and/or referral, and

(3) an aftercare plan that involves regular follow-up and connection to suicide attempt survivor support groups.

Members of the team will help with providing technical assistance for the project and give it the momentum it needs.

TSPN’s Advisory Council will monitor progress on the project on a quarterly basis, with the objective of reaching all targeted entities by June 30, 2016.