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Look below to read the New Suicide
Prevention Education Bill
Florida Office of Suicide Prevention
On May 22, 2007 after four years of hard work The
Florida Legislature finally passed a bill creating the
Office of Suicide Prevention within the Office of Drug
Control in the Governor's Office. The Florida Suicide
Prevention Task Force and Florida Suicide Prevention
Coalition worked hard to get this bill passed. Thank
you to many advocates, legislators and State officials who
worked with the two organizations to accomplish this goal.
The Bill also created the State of Florida Suicide
Prevention Coordinating Council with 28 voting members and
many other non-voting members. Together all the
members of the Council will collaborate to implement the
Florida Suicide
Prevention
Strategy created in 2005 in the Office of Drug
Control.
FISP's
Executive Director Jackie Rosen is proud to have been
appointed as a voting member for the next three years.
For more information click
http://www.flgov.com/pdfs/ODC-FlaSuicidePreventStrategy.pdf

Suicide
Prevention Education Legislation
WHAT DOES
THIS BILL DO?
This amendment to the current statute adds suicide prevention
education to school districts’ professional development
plans as an option for school personnel to choose from when
deciding how to fulfill their in-service training
requirements. It does not mandate training, nor does it
cost anything. It is a non-controversial amendment to the
current statute that simply puts suicide prevention
education on the radar screen as an option for school
personnel if they want it
This can be accomplished at no cost as there are numerous
free, online trainings that teachers and administrators can
utilize. Two trainings that we highly recommend, Making
Educators Partners in Youth Suicide Prevention and
Youth Suicide Awareness and Prevention, can be found on
our website at:
http://www.helppromotehope.com/resources/schools.php
PROPOSED
LANGUAGE:
An act
relating to student discipline and school safety; amending
s. 1006.07, F.S.; requiring district school boards to
provide access to suicide prevention education for
instructional and administrative personnel; requiring use of
resources approved by the Statewide Office for Suicide
Prevention; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by
the Legislature of the State of Florida:
Section 1.
Subsection (7) is added to section 1006.07, Florida
Statutes, to read: 1006.07 District school board duties
relating to student discipline and school safety.--The
district school board shall provide for the proper
accounting for all students, for the attendance and control
of students at school, and for proper attention to health,
safety, and other matters relating to the welfare of
students, including:
7) SUICIDE
PREVENTION EDUCATION.—Beginning with the 2010-2011 school
year, provide all instructional and administrative personnel
with access to educational resources regarding suicide
prevention which are approved by the Statewide Office for
Suicide Prevention through the school district professional
development plan under s. 1012.98.
Section 2.
This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.
SENATE SPONSOR:
SB 434/ Senator Eleanor Sobel, District 31
HOUSE
SPONSOR:
HB 1061 /
Representative Bill Heller, District 52
THE NEED
FOR THIS LEGISLATION:
Suicide was
the 9th leading cause of death in Florida in
2008:
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In
2008, 2,723 Floridians died by their own hand
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For
Florida’s youth, suicide is the third leading cause of
death
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More
teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from
cancer heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke,
pneumonia, influenza and chronic lung disease combined
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Across the
U.S.,
approximately 11 young people between the ages of 15-24
die every day by suicide.
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Every 2
hours and 15 minutes a person under the age of 25
completes suicide somewhere in the U.S.
(National Vital Statistics Reports,
National
Center for Health Statistics;
www.cdc.gov/nchs)
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The
average cost to the state of completed suicides in
Florida from 1999-2003 was $2.2 billion
(Calculated by the
Suicide
Prevention
Resource Center, supported by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services)
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Florida’s
suicide rate is more than double its homicide rate
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Suicide
is preventable
Suicide is a widespread public health problem that affects
people at all levels of society. It is the third leading
cause of death for young people ages 10-24. In 2007, 231
youth died by their own hand. In the recent Youth Risk
Behavioral Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease
Control,
Florida
students were asked four questions related to suicidal
ideation. Their responses indicated that 27.3% of students
surveyed in grades 9-12 have experienced possible clinical
depression in the past 12 months, 14.5% considered suicide,
11.6% made a plan to commit suicide and 8.5% reported they
had made an attempt.
Suicide is a national health concern that affects families
from all races, cultures and economic backgrounds. While
there is no specific profile or “suicidal type”, a person
who is considering suicide often exhibits behavioral or
verbal warning signs. If the significant people in a young
person’s life are able to recognize these signs and act on
them, many lives could be saved. According to The Jason
Foundation, a national organization for youth suicide
prevention, an effective means of combating the problem is
to create a “triangle of prevention’ by educating the key
people in a young person’s life: parents, teachers, and
friends. It is therefore appropriate for the Legislature to
enact this proposed bill to ensure that suicide prevention
education is presented to school districts as an option for
in-service credit hours.
LIST OF
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE OPTIONS:
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The
Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide FREE online
teacher training:
http://spts.pldm.com/
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The
Jason Foundation FREE online teacher training:
http://www.jasonfoundation.com/life/login.aspx
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Florida
Initiative for Suicide Prevention provides Gatekeeper
Training (Learning warning signs of suicide) –free if a
trainer comes into the schools (Contact Jackie Rosen,
jrosenfisp@aol.com )
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Alachua
County Crisis Center provides Gatekeeper Training
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Annual
Florida Suicide Prevention Symposium (registration
costs)
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Annual
Florida Prevention Conference (registration costs)
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Parents
and Teachers as Allies (In-Service Mental Health
Education for School Professionals) presented by
National Alliance for Mental Illness- 2 hour course that
reduces the stigma of mental illness (only cost is the
books which are $1 a piece)
For
more information, please contact: Dana Crud at
danac@nami.org / 703-600-1117
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Florida
School Counselor Association can provide free online
trainings statewide
(Contact
the Office of Suicide Prevention at 850-922-0498 if
additional resources are needed or visit
www.HelpPromoteHope.com and click on the Teachers and
Schools Resources page)
For more information and
LINKS CLICK
http://www.HelpPromoteHope.com
History of Suicide Prevention in
Florida
Florida State Task Force on Suicide Prevention
FISP's former Executive Director/CEO Rene Barrett, with
SPAN colleagues, Pam Harrington & Laura Meyer, were
instrumental in initiating the Florida State Task Force on
Suicide Prevention. Originally chaired by James R.
McDonough, Director, Office of Drug Control Policy.
The task force targeted reducing suicide in Florida by 1/3
by the year 2010. Call our office for a copy of the document
they worked on or go to the Florida Suicide Prevention
Strategy Paper. (954) 384- 0344. FISP has worked with
Sen. Nan Rich to make Suicide Prevention a state of Florida
priority.
Florida Suicide Prevention Coalition (FSPC)
FISP was also a
founding member of the Florida Suicide Prevention Coalition
(FSPC)
which consists
of many organizations and individuals throughout the state
working together to inform our legislators of the needs of
Florida's citizens concerning suicide prevention. FSPC
holds and Annual Suicide Prevention Day in the Capital to
educate our legislators. The FSPC website
http://www.floridasuicideprevention.org/
has comprehensive information regarding
legislative actions.
How you can help
Legislatively?
By working together with FISP and other agencies we will
achieve our common goal together. Call or write your
legislators. Ask them to continue funding Suicide Prevention
and Mental Health initiatives in Florida. Go to the FSPC
website
http://www.floridasuicideprevention.org/ or the
state website myflorida.com
to find your legislators.
Contact us to for more
information.
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Survivor’s Notes: This
section will expand for those loved ones who have survived a
suicide, and for those who have attempted suicide, to
recount their stories. By telling your stories, you will be
able to help those who have experienced the trauma and can
benefit to know that they are not alone. For those
contemplating suicide, your stories may give them the second
option they need to reach out for help. And for others, it
may just alert them to the warning signs of those around
them. feel free to contact the editor to submit your stories
at
fisp@earthlink.net
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(954) 384-7988 (fax).
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