Sustainability outcomes among suicide prevention grantees one-year post-federal funding

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) provides technical assistance to state, tribal, and campus Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) grantees, as well as state suicide prevention coordinators. The purpose of this project was to determine the extent to which GLS grantees were able to sustain suicide prevention activities following the completion of their grant. SPRC's partner, Social Science Research and Evaluation, conducted a review of the sustainability literature and developed the research instruments for this project. Key findings of the review included the need to consider not only what remains in the communities, but also how programs, policies, practices, and services were sustained. GLS grantees that were at least one year beyond the period of federal funding (including no-cost extension) were asked to participate in a brief online questionnaire. The purpose of the questionnaire was to identify the extent to which alumni grantees were still engaged in various suicide prevention activities. Once key data themes were identified from the questionnaire, a sub-set of respondents were selected for semi-structured interviews. The purpose of the interviews was to identify what each grantee was able to sustain, and the key elements that were associated with sustainability. The results will be available in the spring of 2013 and will be available to workshop participants. We expect results to point to key factors and characteristics that were essential for sustainability. The results and final recommendations will help guide program sustainability planning efforts, both for suicide prevention and for other public health programs.