Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services

Connecticut’s Networks of Care for Suicide Prevention (NCSP) application proposes to establish a Statewide Network of Care (SNC) for suicide prevention, intervention and response, and implement an intensive community-based effort to reduce non-fatal suicide attempts and suicide deaths among at risk youth age 10-24. The SNC will be comprised of five regional, and one community network in the town of Manchester which will be the focus of an intensive community-based effort. The NCSP will embed suicide prevention as a core priority in CT and utilize interventions that are data and quality-driven, sustainable, culturally competent, formalized, uniformed, and accountable with the capacity and readiness to provide services in anorganized and timely fashion. The CT Departments of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Children and Families, and Public Health, with the guidance of the CT Suicide Advisory Board(CTSAB), will co-direct the NCSP and partner with Community Health Resources; United Wayof CT-National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Provider; Manchester-Public Schools, Police Department, Community College; Eastern CT Health Network; and the UConn Health Center as evaluator.The NCSP will serve an unduplicated total of 1,333 annually and 6,669 over 5-years of diverse youth and young adults age 10-24 and supportive adults representative of the CT population with emphasis on young people identified at increased risk of suicide and who have attempted suicide.

NCSP goals and objectives are aligned with CT’s Suicide Prevention Plan 2020 and the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, prioritizing goals 8 and 9. The NCSP will utilize the primary EBPs of the Zero Suicide approach, Jed Foundation/Suicide Prevention Resource Center Model for Comprehensive Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Promotion, SAMHSA Strategic Prevention Framework, and other EBPs related to their implementation, including gatekeeperand workforce development strategies and effective clinical and professional practices for assessing and treating those identified as being at risk for suicidal behaviors. The NCSP will build on current CT suicide and substance abuse prevention infrastructure, resources, coalitions, services, and strategies; experience gained from two prior CT youth suicide prevention cooperative agreement grants; strong relationships and partnerships within the CTSAB; and other federal and state-funded initiatives with shared missions, goals and objectives. Priority populations will be provided opportunities for direct input through the networks to ensure that their unique needs are identified and met, and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline will be promoted through the statewide ‘1 WORD, 1 VOICE, 1 LIFE’ campaign. Baseline measures will be established, and NCSP efforts will be closely monitored and evaluated for continuous quality improvement and statewide impact.