South Dakota Divison of Mental Health

South Dakota?s Community Partnership for Suicide Prevention (CPSP) will strengthen the capacity in South Dakota communities and schools to plan, implement, and sustain evidence-based suicide prevention programs that reduce suicide attempts and fatalities. Local community Project Sites will also increase their ability to collect, analyze, and present local suicide related data. Additionally, the project will work with colleges or universities and veteran populations.
South Dakota?s suicide rate ranks as 9th highest in the United States across age groups and 7th highest for youth and young adults age 15 to 24. The suicide rate for this age group (20.2 per 100,000) is almost double the national rate (11.0). In people ages 15-19, the suicide rate in South Dakota (20.3) is more than two-and-a-half times the national rate (7.6). In an effort to reduce suicide attempts and completions in South Dakota, the CPSP will provide continued growth in the referral and service network between schools, community mental health centers, substance abuse providers, juvenile justice, and child protective services. This system of care will be strengthened through training and technical assistance so that communities can create a safety net for identifying, referring and assisting those at risk for suicide.
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The CPSP is based on the South Dakota Strategy for Suicide Prevention, a state plan created by a public and private organization partnership, and will target youth and young adults aged 14-24. Specifically, the program will 1) create Local Community Groups (LCGs) that are public-private partnerships focused on suicide prevention; 2) provide trainings and technical assistance to members of each LCG and school staff; 3) provide a student curriculum in schools within Project Site communities; 4) organize a gatekeeper training for community members; 5) develop local suicide prevention policies among multiple agencies and groups within the community including methods and procedures for tracking suicide related data; 6) implement suicide prevention campaigns, 7) provide information to parents, 8) deliver information and trainings that provide attention to the culture of military personnel and their families. The CPSP hopes to reach 2000 youth and over 3000 adults with training, information and education throughout the life of the grant.

South Dakota?s Division of Mental Health (DMH) will support this grant project through grant funding to local community groups. The DMH will work with consultants experienced in suicide prevention to provide the training and technical assistance such communities require. The Workgroup that helped develop the state suicide prevention plan will serve as an ad-hoc steering committee and work with lead contacts from each community (who will form the advisory group) to provide oversight and feedback to the project.