NCJ Number
180000
Journal
Child Welfare Volume: 78 Issue: 6 Dated: November/December 1999 Pages: 793-806
Date Published
1999
Length
14 pages
Annotation
The workshop described in this article informs and educates adolescents, adults working with adolescents, and parents about child and adolescent depression and suicide.
Abstract
Community outreach activities showed that adolescents and parents in Monroe County, N.Y., had difficulty identifying and accessing mental health crisis services for youths. The need to address this deficit led to the development of an educational workshop on teen depression and suicide. Local, national, and international trends in teen suicide fueled the development of a proactive, preventive educational approach that includes both primary and secondary prevention modalities that are offered to teens, parents, and professionals who work with youth. Additionally, the program developed new partnerships between mental health agencies and schools through workshops and workshop-presenter training. Early workshops helped refine the final product. To date, the workshop has been presented to urban, suburban, and rural high school health classes; school administrators; juvenile justice detention center residents; youth conferences; school wellness center staff members; parents; agency boards; and human service agencies. Eight years into the Youth Emergency Services collaboration in Monroe County, a comprehensive model has emerged. In addition to direct service provision, strategies include workshop training of school and community professionals, so they can identify youth at highest risk for suicidal thoughts and attempts; prevention education for both adolescents and parents; a partnership with the local hotline to facilitate community screening and referral to appropriate crisis services for families and youths; collaboration with a large primary care provider network to streamline the after-hours crisis referral process, using the hotline; and the use of a website to inform individuals about services and resources. 28 references