NCJ Number
247455
Date Published
September 2013
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This guide examines suicide prevention among youth in the juvenile justice system.
Abstract
This web guide describes four focus areas developed by the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention: public awareness and education; suicide research review; suicide prevention programming and training; and mental health and juvenile systems collaboration. Each section discusses in detail the major topic's objective, primary product, and key findings and recommendations. Risk of suicide among youth is a significant problem in the United States. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among individuals aged 10-18. The risk of suicide is even higher among youth in the juvenile justice system. Specifically, youth in juvenile justice residential facilities have nearly three times the rate of suicide compared with their peers in the general population; suicide is the leading cause of death for youth in custody; and up to one third of justice-involved youth report having experienced suicidal ideation in the past year.