SESSION ABSTRACT: Training gatekeepers to prevent suicide: Utilization of skills and the identification of at-risk youth

In 2004, The US Congress passed the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act (GLSMA) and thereby authorized funding for the Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Program. Thirty-eight states and tribal entities currently funded under the GLSMA are working to develop infrastructure for suicide prevention. Prevention infrastructure focuses on improving early identification of at-risk youth and linking them to mental health services. This panel discussion will present data from the cross-site evaluation of these programs, and will focus on the proximal outcomes of the “gatekeeper trainings” employed by a majority of grantees to train professionals in youth-serving fields and other community members to recognize the warning signs of suicide and intervene appropriately. Gatekeeper trainees include clinicians, primary care providers, school personnel, child welfare staff, law enforcement officers, as well as general community members, working in a wide variety of professional and personal settings.

The panel will discuss aggregated data from three related data collection activities: the Training Exit Survey, a post-training survey of trainee satisfaction and intention to utilize training-acquired knowledge and skills; the Training Utilization and Penetration Interviews, a qualitative instrument collected two-months post-training that reports on trainee accounts of knowledge retention, utilization of training-acquired knowledge and skills, and factors inhibiting and facilitating suicide prevention in their workplace and communities; and the Early Identification, Referral and Follow up analysis, a tracking mechanism to gather data on youth identified at-risk for suicide by trained gatekeepers, as well as the receipt of relevant referrals and services by these youth.