AL Discretionary Funding Fiscal Year 2016

The Alabama Individual and Placement Support-Supported Employment Program (AL-IPSSEP) is designed to enable adults receiving services from community mental health centers to access culturally competent employment services and to succeed in competitive employment. Both the Alabama Department of Mental Health and the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services are uniquely positioned to implement the first evidence-based practice supported employment model in Alabama. Key partners include Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, the Auburn Center for Disability Research and Services, and the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs. The program goal is to prioritize and offer full access to employment through Individual Placement and Support services for people who do not benefit from traditional vocational service.

The Alabama Individual and Placement Support-Supported Employment Program (AL-IPSSEP) is designed to enable adults receiving services from community mental health centers to access culturally competent employment services and to succeed in competitive employment. Both the Alabama Department of Mental Health and the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services are uniquely positioned to implement the first evidence-based practice supported employment model in Alabama. Key partners include Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, the Auburn Center for Disability Research and Services, and the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs. The program goal is to prioritize and offer full access to employment through Individual Placement and Support services for people who do not benefit from traditional vocational service.

The goal of Alabama Project LAUNCH is to provide effective services and systems linkages to address early childhood mental health of young children so that they develop optimally enter school ready, and experience success, Project activities build on existing priorities from the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems plan, Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Needs Assessment, and Early Childhood Advisory Council.

The goal of Alabama Project LAUNCH is to provide effective services and systems linkages to address early childhood mental health of young children so that they develop optimally enter school ready, and experience success, Project activities build on existing priorities from the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems plan, Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Needs Assessment, and Early Childhood Advisory Council.

The goal of Alabama Project LAUNCH is to provide effective services and systems linkages to address early childhood mental health of young children so that they develop optimally enter school ready, and experience success, Project activities build on existing priorities from the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems plan, Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Needs Assessment, and Early Childhood Advisory Council.

The purpose of the Youth Suicide Prevention and Awareness Program is to implement a comprehensive suicide prevention, education, and awareness campaign, increase access to services, and increase suicide related surveillance across Alabama's resident and transient populations, via utilization of Crisis Centers, Universities, nonprofit organizations, and local and state resources. Alabama the Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resource Coalition (ASPARC), the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and three crisis centers located in north, central, and south Alabama will be engaged in this initiative, allowing for a dissemination range from the State level, to local and community level. This multifaceted approach will allow for a larger degree of community engagement and local buy in as well as a multiple exposure methods to Alabama's populations, which suffered from 14.2 suicides per 100,000 populations in 2009, and have seen higher rates than the U.S. average since 1989. An awareness and educational campaign, QPR training to increase the knowledge and self efficacy of individuals in recognizing and making referrals, educational sessions conducted in communities, schools, and universities, increased access to call line services, referrals, and counseling, and media exposure, will all work to increase the education of suicide prevention, and reduce the number of suicides in Alabama. These initiatives will include conducting a minimum of 72 educational sessions in schools, communities, universities and juvenile justice systems and veteran's organizations, training a minimum of 1,500 QPR Gatekeepers, increasing crisis call line availability, and lowering the number of students self-reporting suicidal ideation on surveys from 30% to 20%.

The purpose of the Alabama Youth Suicide Prevention Program (YSPP) is to develop and implement statewide youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies that will include collaboration among schools, educational institutions, juvenile justice systems, foster care systems, substance abuse and mental health programs, and other child and youth-supporting organizations. These activities and others will be utilized to reduce suicide deaths and non-fatal suicide attempts among adolescents in Alabama, ages 10-24, of all races and ethnicities. The Alabama Department of Public Health will partner with the Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resource Coalition, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and five crisis centers located in North, North Central, Central, Southeast, and Southwest Alabama, that will serve as behavioral health service providers to provide services at the state level as well as the community level. The multifaceted approach will allow for multiple exposure and intervention methods as well as a larger degree of community engagement for Alabama's youth population, which suffered from 11.7 suicides per 100,000 in 2013.

The goals for the YSPP that are to be achieved by 2020 are to: 1) decrease the rate of adolescents (ages 15-24) who complete suicide from 11.7 to 9.2 per 100,000; 2)decrease the percentage of high school students who seriously considered attempting suicide from 18.1 to 13.1 percent; 3) decrease the percentage of high school students who made a plan about how they would attempt suicide from 14.3 to 13.8 percent; 4) decrease the percentage of high school students who attempted suicide from 10.4 to 8.9 percent; and 5) decrease the percentage of high school students who attempted suicide that resulted in an injury, poisoning, or overdose that had to be treated by a doctor or nurse from 3.6 to 2.1 percent.

The purpose of the Alabama Youth Suicide Prevention Program (YSPP) is to develop and implement statewide youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies that will include collaboration among schools, educational institutions, juvenile justice systems, foster care systems, substance abuse and mental health programs, and other child and youth-supporting organizations. These activities and others will be utilized to reduce suicide deaths and non-fatal suicide attempts among adolescents in Alabama, ages 10-24, of all races and ethnicities. The Alabama Department of Public Health will partner with the Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resource Coalition, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and five crisis centers located in North, North Central, Central, Southeast, and Southwest Alabama, that will serve as behavioral health service providers to provide services at the state level as well as the community level. The multifaceted approach will allow for multiple exposure and intervention methods as well as a larger degree of community engagement for Alabama's youth population, which suffered from 11.7 suicides per 100,000 in 2013.

The goals for the YSPP that are to be achieved by 2020 are to: 1) decrease the rate of adolescents (ages 15-24) who complete suicide from 11.7 to 9.2 per 100,000; 2)decrease the percentage of high school students who seriously considered attempting suicide from 18.1 to 13.1 percent; 3) decrease the percentage of high school students who made a plan about how they would attempt suicide from 14.3 to 13.8 percent; 4) decrease the percentage of high school students who attempted suicide from 10.4 to 8.9 percent; and 5) decrease the percentage of high school students who attempted suicide that resulted in an injury, poisoning, or overdose that had to be treated by a doctor or nurse from 3.6 to 2.1 percent.

The Alabama State University (ASU) Suicide Prevention Project will work through the gatekeepers on to provide training, information, awareness and education regarding mental health, substance use, suicide prevention and intervention. The purpose of the ASU Suicide Prevention Project is to: reduce suicide ideation, attempts and deaths among college students on the ASU campus. To that end, the goal the project is to reduce the incidence of contemplated, attempted and completed suicides on the ASU campus while increasing protective factors that will assist in preventing suicide and their attempts. We will increase knowledge about suicide, risk factors, protective factors, and crisis response to ASU students, faculty and staff; create greater awareness and sensitivity to suicide and its stressors/risk factors among the ASU community (students, faculty, and staff); and increase the capacity of the ASU campus faculty, staff and students to respond to persons contemplating and/or attempting suicide and build campus infrastructure and capacity to effectively handle these incidents in the event they occur.

The Alabama State University (ASU) Suicide Prevention Project will work through the gatekeepers on to provide training, information, awareness and education regarding mental health, substance use, suicide prevention and intervention. The purpose of the ASU Suicide Prevention Project is to: reduce suicide ideation, attempts and deaths among college students on the ASU campus. To that end, the goal the project is to reduce the incidence of contemplated, attempted and completed suicides on the ASU campus while increasing protective factors that will assist in preventing suicide and their attempts. We will increase knowledge about suicide, risk factors, protective factors, and crisis response to ASU students, faculty and staff; create greater awareness and sensitivity to suicide and its stressors/risk factors among the ASU community (students, faculty, and staff); and increase the capacity of the ASU campus faculty, staff and students to respond to persons contemplating and/or attempting suicide and build campus infrastructure and capacity to effectively handle these incidents in the event they occur.