By Nada Hassanein, Stateline.org
Only a dozen states have laws establishing suicide prevention offices or coordinators, and just 11 have task forces or committees dedicated to suicide prevention efforts, according to a new report.
The report comes amid sweeping cuts at federal agencies that offer mental health support. They include significant slashes in staffing and funding at the nation’s largest mental health and substance use agency, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to fold SAMHSA into his new Administration for a Healthy America.
Released last month, the report was conducted by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials with support from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The analysis is part of an online resource breaking down details of suicide prevention efforts at the state level.
As of Jan. 1, just a dozen states had offices or state coordinators focused on suicide prevention: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. Some states have these offices mandated by law and others were established through executive orders.
Eleven states (Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Washington) plus Puerto Rico have laws requiring a task force, commission or advisory group focused on suicide prevention.
The report notes prevention efforts are most effective when they are focused on higher-risk populations, areas, age groups and occupations. Suicide risk is higher among rural residents, older adults, American Indian and Alaska Native people, people with disabilities, veterans and groups that identify with a sexual minority. The federal administration recently pulled the plug on LGBTQ+ specialized supports under the national suicide hotline, 988.
About 60% of states — 29 states and Washington, D.C. — have laws that establish some form of fatality review committees that specifically include suicide deaths in reviews. Areas of focus varied among the states. Some had statewide teams and others were on the local level, according to the report.
The report notes that another 11 states assign prevention responsibilities within other offices. Minnesota law, for example, assigns such tasks to the state commissioner of health, rather than toward a special suicide prevention office or coordinator.
In 2023, the nation saw 49,000 deaths by suicide, according to the CDC. Firearms are involved in more than half of suicides.
Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org.
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