Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

The State of Oklahoma proposes to utilize funding available from this State-Sponsored Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention opportunity to continue the Oklahoma Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Initiative. Specifically, funds will be used to implement evidence-based youth suicide prevention strategies in selected high-need communities and implementation of the state suicide prevention plan. As a Cohort I, IV, and VI grantee of SAMSHA’s Garrett Lee Smith initiative, the State of Oklahoma has taken important steps toward the development of a public health infrastructure to promote the prevention of suicide. Universal and targeted projects have been initiated in communities, universities, schools, tribal governments, hospitals, faith communities, armed forces, mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities, and other youth-serving agencies.

Project goals are to:

1. Increase suicide prevention capacity and implementation within priority counties.
2. Increase suicide prevention capacity and implementation at the state level.
3. Increase the number of youth at risk of suicide who are identified and receive mental health services.
4. Increase the number of effective and evidence-based clinical suicide prevention practices implemented.
5. Improve and expand suicide surveillance systems.

The proposed service area is the state of Oklahoma and six high-risk communities. Contracted sub-recipients will provide gatekeeper training, and establish an emergency department suicide attempt database with follow up consent protocol. The project will reach nearly 50,000 individuals with suicide prevention training/education (including 900 clinicians and up to 25 colleges/universities). Approximately 40 communities statewide will receive suicide postvention/prevention consultation and training. Funding will also be utilized to continue statewide suicide prevention efforts initiated with Cohort I, IV, and VI strategies. The state will develop four Regional Suicide Prevention Chapters of the State Suicide Prevention Council, gatekeeper and clinical suicide prevention training statewide, and crisis response protocol in public school systems to specifically address student death by suicide. The project is expected to reduce the rate of non-fatal suicide attempts and deaths in youth aged 10-24.