Query
Template: /var/www/farcry/projects/fandango/www/action/sherlockFunctions.cfm
Execution Time: 4.25 ms
Record Count: 1
Cached: Yes
Cache Type: timespan
Lazy: No
SQL:
SELECT top 1 objectid,'cmCTAPromos' as objecttype
FROM cmCTAPromos
WHERE status = 'approved'
AND ctaType = 'moreinfo'
objectidobjecttype
11BD6E890-EC62-11E9-807B0242AC100103cmCTAPromos

Just in Case App helps colleges respond to legislative mandates for suicide prevention outreach

Health, Safety, and Well-being
November 3, 2015 Will DeLamater eReadia

When NASPA teamed with eReadia to make the Just in Case app available to colleges for suicide prevention and outreach in early 2013, the drumbeat of legislative activity regarding on-campus suicide prevention was just gaining momentum. Today, a growing number of states deem it necessary to require staff training and the creation of support resources for students on college campuses, along with better reporting on the statistics of campus suicide.

NASPA President Kevin Kruger's assertions in 2013 announcing the partnership with eReadia said that "the time for mobile delivery of these critical suicide prevention resources is here. Support for a student undergoing crisis is critical on an ‘anywhere, anytime’ basis."

State legislatures across the country increasingly agree.

When West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed into law the legislation known as "Jamie's Law" on Sept. 10, 2015, he joined a growing list of governors who have enacted suicide prevention measures in their states this year.  Additional laws in Ohio, Georgia, Montana, Maryland, and Utah now address suicide outreach and prevention for young people from middle school through college.

Jamie's Law, named for Jamie Campbell, an 18-year-old who committed suicide, is the result in part of the efforts of Michelle Toman, Campbell's sister. Toman lobbied tirelessly for House Bill 2535. The law requires educators be trained in the warning signs of students in crisis and how to respond. On college campuses in West Virginia, administrators must provide information about support services for students in crisis and advise all incoming students of the school's outreach resources.

In Ohio, Rep. Marlene Anielski introduced House Bill 28, which passed the legislature earlier this year and was signed into law by Gov. John Kasich. The new law requires state institutions of higher learning to "develop and implement a policy to advise students and staff on suicide prevention programs available on and off campus." The plan must include crisis intervention access, such as information on crisis hotlines, access to on- and off-campus mental health programs, multimedia access to hotlines, warning signs, and resources, as well outreach and postvention plans. Schools must also target incoming students with these resources.

Much of the legislative activity has taken place in response to highly publicized suicides on college campuses. In Illinois, House Bill 3599 was introduced following the suicide of Christopher Predmore, a student at Illinois State University. The thrust of the law is to allow universities to share a student's mental health records with their parents. The authorization requires the approval of the student and can only occur when the school determines that a student is at risk of harming themselves or harming other. The bill is entitled the Student Optional Disclosure of Private Mental Health Act, and it will take effect in 2016.

Another high profile campus suicide at the University of Pennsylvania triggered the introduction of the Madison Holleran Suicide Prevention Act in the New Jersey legislature, named after the Penn freshman who lost her life in in a jump from a university parking garage in January 2014. The bill would require colleges to make trained support staff available to students at all times. A second bill, the Proper Reporting Act, would further require campuses to provide data on attempts and completed suicides each year. The bill is intended for enactment for the 2016-2017 school year.

Several themes emerge from all this legislative activity. One thread, the requirement of training for school and university staff dealing with students, has its original in the Jason Flatt legislation from 2007. More recent initiatives also mandate the provision of resources to the students themselves, often as part of the college orientation program. Some of the initiatives, like the one in Ohio, specifically exclude distribution of the information in a paper format. A thread unique to the Illinois law addresses the lamentable gap when colleges cannot break individual confidentiality to alert parents to the fact that their child may be struggling.

The NASPA-eReadia partnership for the Just in Case app is designed to support all of these legislative initiatives by providing campus-specific mental health crisis support information and action steps to students on their smartphones. Because each Just in Case app is campus-specific, mandates for publication of resources available to students can be met through the app. The app can be adapted to provide support for faculty and staff, as well, by reinforcing training sessions and providing guidelines for responding to students that users can access when away from office or computer.