Florida – University of Central Florida

The Florida Implementation of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (FINS) Project is a partnership of the state suicide prevention infrastructure, the Inter-Agency Dissemination and Collaborative Network, which consists of the Florida Statewide Office of Suicide Prevention (SOSP), the University of Central Florida (UCF) and the University of South Florida (USF) with the Florida Hospital. Utilizing a sustainable mentorship model, FINS will adopt and integrate the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (NSSP) to ensure that health and behavioral health settings and adult serving systems (crisis centers, VA centers, correctional facilities, housing and employment centers, grass root organizations, faith-based, and other social services) are adequately prepared to identify, engage, and treat at-risk adults with culturally competent evidence-based/best-practice (EB/BP) suicide prevention, treatment, safety planning, and care coordination services. The goals/measurable objectives are to:

(a) Transform health and behavioral health system infrastructure through the development of ZS advisory committees, suicide prevention policies and procedures, and the integration of EB/BP measures and mechanisms to monitor suicide care;
(b) Enhance the collaboration of local and state-level partnerships to promote ZS and NSPL utilization;
(c) Develop workforce training capacity to utilize EB/BP suicide prevention strategies;
(d) Enhance care coordination strategies to increase the number of referrals and sustainable treatment, recovery and support linkages for at-risk adults; and,
(e) Improve the coordination, sharing, and tracking of suicide-related indicators (suicide ideation, attempts, deaths, service utilization) via regional and state-level data surveillance systems.

Over 3 years, the project will prevent adult suicide morbidity and mortality rates by:

(1) Assisting partnering systems to adopt EB/BP screening, suicide risk assessment, safety planning, and care coordination tools via ZS workshops [155 agency administrators/directors trained];
(2) Conducting EB adult gatekeeper skills training to non-clinical staff [QPR, 1,500 gatekeepers];
(3) Training clinical and medical staff in EB/BP strategies to increase capacity to conduct suicide risk assessments, safety plans, and care coordination services [QPRT (230 trained), LINC (150trained), LINC to Life Safety Planning/CALM (430 trained)];
(4) Providing EB clinical training to treat suicidal clients [DBT, 50 trained];
(5) Promoting the ZS initiative and FINS project via participation in community events/meetings and dissemination of suicide prevention materials, including NSPL materials [144 community events/meetings; 7,200 promotional materials, 3,600 NSPL materials]; and,
(6) Providing long-term care coordination services to high risk adults to ensure rapid follow-up, smooth care transitions, and sustained engagement in services [1,620 adult clients].

Quality assurance and overall program direction will be conducted by UCF and evaluation efforts will be conducted by USF. The FINS Project will pilot the model in central Florida in order to guide future suicide prevention initiatives which are planned throughout Florida.