Developing a Model Suicide Prevention Policy for School Districts

Presenters

• James L. Fletcher, SC Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Office of Mental HealthFollow
• Jonah-Mae Neri, SC Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Office of Mental HealthFollow

First Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

MSW

Year First Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

2015

First Presenter's Field of Study

Social Work

Institution Where First Presenter Received Highest Degree

University of South Carolina Columbia College of Social Work

First Presenter's Institution

SC Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Office of Mental Health

First Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Lee Fletcher became the South Carolina Department of Behavioral Health and Development Disabilities (SCBHDD) Office of Mental Health (OMH) School Mental Health (SMH) Program Director in 2023. In his role he develops, expands, and promotes the SMH program, manages statewide initiatives, and coordinates with the OMH community mental health centers to ensure service quality. This school year almost 300 clinicians are serving over 500 schools across the state on behalf of SCBHDD. Before joining OMH as a program coordinator Fletcher spent time with the USC School Behavioral Health Team where he helped leadership expand the statewide conference into a regional one. He also spent time in New England as management consultant and youth pastor. When he is not working or doing other required adult duties, Fletcher enjoys being a foster parent, playing pub trivia, and exploring home automation.

Second Presenter's Institution

SC Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Office of Mental Health

Second Presenter’s Email Address

jonah-mae.neri@scdmh.org

Second Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

BA

Year Second Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

2025

Second Presenter's Field of Study

Global Studies

Institution Where Second Presenter Received Highest Degree

McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Carolina - Columbia

Second Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Jonah-Mae Neri, otherwise known as Jo, recently became the Program Coordinator for the Building Hope SC/Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Grant Program in the Suicide Prevention Program (SPP) of the Office of Mental Health in October of 2025. In her role, under the supervision of the project directors, she assists with planning, coordinating, and implementing activities between grant partners to support the objectives of the grant. Prior to joining OMH, Jo supervised the Visitor Experience department at the Columbia Museum of Art, where she oversaw daily staff responsibilities and supported outreach and marketing initiatives alongside upper management. A native Vermonter, Jo enjoys hiking in the outdoors when weather permits. If weather doesn’t permit, Jo enjoys playing video games or spoiling her cat just as much!

Location

Ballroom E

Document Type

Individual Presentation

Primary Strand

Mental Health

Relevance to Primary Strand

The presentation relies on the expertise of mental health staff in communicating suicide prevention best practices to teachers, school and district staff, and the community.

Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics

School Safety

Brief Program Description

The South Carolina Department of Behavioral Health and Development Disabilities Office of Mental Health is developing a model suicide prevention protocol for districts to use in analyzing, developing, and refining their own policies and procedures. A federal grant program that funds statewide tribal and campus efforts to reduce youth suicide through prevention, early intervention, and crisis response finances the project. In SC the grant supports training for school staff and community partners, improves identification and referral of at-risk youth, and builds partnerships and coordination across education and mental health systems.

Summary

There were 623 suicide deaths for ages 24 and under from 2018-2022 in South Carolina. From 2020 to 2023, SC EMS Self Harm calls increased 151% for ages 14 and under and 89% for ages 15-24. Conversely, studies have shown early intervention and youth exposure to communities that positively talk about suicide prevention are key to reducing such statistics. The Office of Mental Health Suicide Prevention and School Mental Health Programs have partnered numerous times to communicate key aspects of suicide prevention strategy in school districts and the importance of integrating those policies and practices in school communities to reduce the suicide rates in SC. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Youth Suicide Prevention grant allows for a collaboration that focuses on district-level process improvements and grade level mental health education, along with prevention training for youth serving organizations across the state.

This presentation will include key information about mental health in schools and youth suicide in South Carolina to highlight the importance of implementing strategies within youth serving communities to combat youth suicide risk and mortality. This presentation will also describe the program, Building Hope, as well as the methodologies and curriculum being implemented on the district level by OMH and partnered external parties. Research on education programs shows that implementation leads to higher rates of youth seeking acceptability, peer referrals for suicide risk, and lower rates of self-reported suicide attempts. Presenters will introduce and discuss key components of a statewide model suicide prevention policy, how it relates to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention strategies, and plans for sharing the model with a wider audience. Finally, presenters will offer suggested best practices and policies to consider within participants’ own school districts to offer opportunities for post-presentation reflection by participants.

Building Hope offers a statewide model suicide prevention policy that addresses prevention, intervention, and postvention that school districts and youth-integrated communities can use to implement vital and layered strategies, ensuring that every young person has access to the support needed to turn the tide on this public health crisis.

Evidence

2019 study on the long-term impact of the Garrett Lee Smith program on youth suicide mortality from 2006-2015 estimated that counties exposed to GLS during a single year exhibited an estimated 0.9 per 100,000 youths lower rate that control counties 1 year following implementation, and 1.1 per 100,000 youths lower than control counties 2 years after implementation. Rural counties after program implementation exhibited even lower rates.

Godoy Garraza, L., Kuiper, N., Goldston, D., McKeon, R., & Walrath, C. (2019). Long-term impact of the Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention Program on youth suicide mortality, 2006-2015. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 60(10), 1142–1147. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13058

A 2015 study comparing 466 counties that implemented the GLS program between 2006-09 and 1161 counties found counties that implemented GLS program activities exhibited significantly lower suicide attempt rates among youths 16 to 23 years of age 1 year following GLS implementation in comparison to non-implementing counties. (4.9 fewer attempts per 1000 youths [95% CI, 1.8-8.0 fewer attempts per 1000 youths]; P = .003).

Godoy Garraza, L., Walrath, C., Goldston, D. B., Reid, H., & McKeon, R. (2015). Effect of the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Suicide Prevention Program on Suicide Attempts Among Youths. JAMA psychiatry, 72(11), 1143–1149. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.1933

The GLS grant program has continuously supported evidence-backed and comprehensive community-based youth suicide prevention efforts throughout the United States since 2004. Evidence demonstrates in comparison to non-implementing controls communities, the communities that implement GLS suicide prevention activities exhibit lower population rates of youth suicide attempts and mortality rates. Continuous implementation has led to increased positive outcomes in rural communities, reduced health care costs associated with lessened emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Effectiveness has not been measured on a nationwide level often due to county-level roll out of activities and initiatives for GLS grantees, however findings offer encouraging post-implementation trends.

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s 2016 report to Congress of the GLS grant indicates that campus, state, and tribal GLS grantees have been able to train 879,566 people and implement 29,457 activities as part of their GLS programs as of 2015. Through post-training questionnaires, trainees reported increased knowledge on how to get help for someone at risk for suicide, warning signs of suicide, and information about resources for help with suicide. GLS grantees were also able to increase the capacity to track and monitor information identification and referral information, leading to enhanced collaboration and coordination of care among youth serving organizations.

GARRETT LEE SMITH YOUTH SUICIDE PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM NATIONAL OUTCOMES EVALUATION Evaluation Findings: Report to Congress. (2016). https://sprc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GLS-Report-A-07_20_16.final-002.pdf

Learning Objective 1

Describe a brief history of mental health care and suicide prevention in schools in SC;

Learning Objective 2

Communicate at least 3 key aspects of a district suicide prevention policy; and

Learning Objective 3

Understand the importance of implementing suicide preventative roles and policies in school communities.

Start Date

6-1-2026 1:00 PM

End Date

6-1-2026 2:00 PM

Recommended Citation

Fletcher, James L. and Neri, Jonah-Mae, "Developing a Model Suicide Prevention Policy for School Districts" (2026). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 10.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2026/2026/10

Creative Commons License

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