![]() ![]() “The goal, at least for me, of sharing this information publicly would be to ensure the committee and the public is aware of just how serious some of the issues we are facing really are, and making sure that we have the supports needed to address them,” Cooke said. Christine Cooke, a school board member, said the schools hope to track items such as student arrests, reports of suicide attempts, substance abuse and caseload for school psychologists, social workers and behavioral specialists. In Westerly, the school committee and administration will hold a panel discussion on mental and behavioral health at its March 1 meeting. Many school systems have raised concerns about mental health issues among students, particularly related to the pandemic. New Jersey is lowest at 8 per 100,000 and Wyoming the highest at 29.3. The latest data on the DOH website appears to be five years old, although there is a list of survey questions for 2023.Īccording to the World Population Review, Rhode Island has among the lowest suicide rates per 100,000 residents at 10.7. The DOH did not respond to WUN’s request for comment. “They are starting the preliminary research and data collection” for all age groups. “The Rhode Island Department of Health is putting together a comprehensive three-year suicide prevention plan,” Constant said. The Department of Health Plan will not only focus on teenagers, but will focus on the general population, according to Kerrie Constant, area director, Rhode Island Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. That same report said that 22 percent of high schoolers had seriously considered attempting suicide, and 10 percent had actually attempted suicide. That’s an increase from 28 percent in 2011. This comes at a time when there is a dramatic upswing in behavioral health issues among high schoolers nationwide, with 42 percent of high school students reportedly experiencing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, according to a Centers for Disease Control Report issued last week. As suicide rates nudge upwards, the Rhode Island Department of Health is developing a suicide prevention plan, according to a leading suicide prevention advocate.
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