Contact Person(s):

Julie Sergeant, Section Director

Injury and Disability Prevention

Bureau of Health Promotion, KDHE

(785) 296-8163

fax: (785) 296-8645

JSergean@kdhe.state.ks.us

Elaine Schwartz, LACHA

Policy Analyst

Kansas Department on Aging

503 S. Kansas Ave.

Topeka, KS 66603-3404

(785) 296-6458

Fax: (785) 296-0256

elaineschwartz@aging.state.ks.us

Summary of what Kansas is doing:

Following a Region VII U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services conference in August 1999, Kansas formed a Statewide Suicide Prevention Steering Committee. It includes: the KS Dept. of Health and Environment, the KS Dept. on Education, the KS Dept. on Aging, the KS Dept. of Social and Rehabilitation Services, the KS Juvenile Justice Authority, the Mental Health Assn. of the Heartland, New Directions Behavioral Health, a state legislator, the Jerome Horton Foundation, NAMI Kansas, the Kansas Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network, Prevention Centers Assn. of Kansas, the Mental Health Consortium, Inc., the Mental Health Assn. of the Heartland, The Assn. of Community Mental Health Centers, Headquarters, Inc., and the Public Health Assn. of Kansas.

Kansas adopted a state plan soon after the formation of the steering committee, and had the first annual Suicide Prevention Conference in the fall of 2000 with 175 in attendance from all across the state. The second annual conference scheduled for October 2001 will feature Dr. Alex Crosby from CDC. Kansas also participated in the Surgeon General’s/Department of Health and Human Services Public Hearing in Kansas City in October 2000 and the ten state conference call with the Surgeon General in the spring of 2001. Testimony has also been given to state legislative committees.

Funding for various projects has come from the state agencies involved in the Suicide Prevention Steering Committee. The KS Department of Health and Environment has also received grant funding for the dissemination of our information. We also have a web page, and encourage agencies to have links to our site for information on suicide prevention, including the state plan.

Public awareness has been a major effort of the committee. A speaker’s bureau per se was formed and several members have spoken at various conferences and functions across the state on Suicide Prevention, including the annual Governor’s Conference on Aging. A poster contest will be kicked off at the October conference with letters to all the schools following the kickoff to encourage participation. Prizes will be given to promote awareness. Posters will be displayed in the capitol during legislative sessions.

Other efforts have been made to bring suicide prevention awareness to all parts of the state. One of the committee members received a SAMHSA grant for studying and promoting awareness of teen suicides. ANSWER (Adolescents Never Suicide When Everyone Responds), a task force comprised of local law enforcement, a mental health association, schools, and various other groups or professional have developed posters and a web site: www.teenanswer.org.

One county commission (Sedgwick County) has designated suicide as a priority and a county planning initiative was held in Wichita with over 150 in attendance. COMCARE, the Community Mental Health Center in Wichita is the chair for the second annual statewide conference, which will be held in Wichita. Kansas also has a crisis center, Headquarters, Inc. who responds to the national 800/suicide number for calls that originate from Kansas. And finally, a subcommittee is working with the Kansas Highway Patrol and the Kansas Attorney General’s office to produce a 30-second Public Service Announcement on Suicide Prevention, which will be aired during the holiday seasons.

Kansas State Plan for Suicide Prevention

Awareness: Appropriately broaden the public’s awareness of suicide and its risk factors:

Promote public awareness that suicide is a public health problem and, as such, many suicides are preventable. Use information technology appropriately to make facts about suicide and its risk factors and prevention approaches available to the public and to health care providers. Strategies: Kansas State "suicide awareness month" publicized through the school system; notes home to parents about the signs and symptoms of depression in children, PTA speakers from the state speaker’s bureau about suicide and stress in children, Billboards and Videos about suicide that could be shown to groups. Shorter videos about suicide for TV public announcements – have a TV station adopt this as an issue. Use radio and television public service announcements.

Expand awareness of and enhance resources in communities for suicide prevention programs and mental and substance abuse disorder assessment and treatment. Strategies: Work with community and professional groups. Ask Kansas Mental Health Centers to offer "suicide prevention" or "depression prevention" workshops in schools and or to community groups such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Young Matrons, etc. Provide professional training in a variety of cities across the state about suicide, its prevention, and state resources (Speaker’s Bureau). Develop a brochure that can be given to not-for-profits and CMHCs about what to do/where to go if suicidal.

Develop and implement strategies to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness, substance abuse, and suicidal behavior and with seeing help for such problems. Strategies: Develop a slogan for the state about mental illness; might use a contest for middle school children, tie in with National Mental Health Month or National Depression Awareness Month.

Intervention: Enhance services and program, both population-based and clinical care:

Improve the ability of primary care providers to recognize and treat depression, substance abuse, and other major mental illnesses associated with suicide risk.

Increase the referrals to specialty care when appropriate. Strategies: Convene state’s insurance companies to develop strategies to focus on this issue. CLEARLY identify next steps for PCPs when faced with the suspicion of a behavioral health or substance abuse disorder. CLEARLY identify next steps for PCPs when identifying a suicidal individual. Institute training for all health, mental health substance abuse and human services professionals about suicide risk assessment and recognition, treatment, management and aftercare interventions. Strategies: Develop statewide conference. Work with BSRB to make suicide prevention CEUs a requirement for mental health professionals. Work with the NEA State chapter or associated organization to develop a training track for teachers about suicide.

Methodology: Advance the science of suicide prevention:

Enhance research to understand risk and protective factors related to suicide, interactions and effects on suicidal behaviors. Increase research on effective suicide prevention programs, clinical treatments for suicidal individuals and culture specific interventions. Strategies: Identify a funding source to aid in the development of statewide programs. Create and distribute an RFP for program development and innovative clinical approaches.

Develop additional scientific strategies for evaluating suicide prevention interventions and ensure that evaluation components are included in all suicide prevention programs. Strategies: As in paragraph above. Also, might work with the departments of psychology, social work, or counseling at state Universities to encourage research in the area of program evaluation. 

Encourage the development and evaluation of new prevention technologies, including firearm safety measures, to reduce easy access to lethal means of suicide. Strategies: Identify state experts in the area of suicidology. Identify a state legislator interested in behavioral health issues. Working with these individuals, facilitate the creation of regulations related to pharmacy procedures and firearm safety.

Links to applicable web pages:

Kansas Suicide Prevention Steering Committee Web site: 

http://www.kasp.org/Suicide/