NCJ Number
247415
Date Published
September 2013
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This document contains the executive summary for the report entitled Preventing Suicide: Working with Youth Who Are Justice Involved.
Abstract
Highlights in this executive summary of the report Preventing Suicide: Working with Youth Who Are Justice Involved include the following: youth suicide is a significant yet preventable public health problem, and youth involved with the juvenile justice system have increased risk of suicide; risk factors that may increase the risk of suicide include mental health or substance disorders, social isolation, and separation from family; protective factors that may decrease the risk of suicide include cultural or religious beliefs that discourage suicide, connectedness and support, and suicide-resistant housing; and juvenile justice systems can do more to help prevent suicide by providing suicide prevention training, ensuring that a standardized suicide risk screening is provided, and creating an emergency response protocol. This summary provides an overview of the work of the Youth in Contact with the Juvenile Justice System Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. The task force comprised four workgroups: Public Awareness and Education, Suicide Research, Suicide Prevention Programming and Training, and Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Systems Collaboration. The findings from the four workgroups are presented in this executive summary.